By my law, By my hand, By my word
by SunsetWanderer
Summary: "By my law, I permit you""By my hand, I ask you""By my word, I promise you" These three sentences may seem insignificant, but for Caspian and Susan they carry a lifetime of meaning. When the Pevensies are allowed to stay, everything seems at peace. Soon, another war looms on the horizon. But this one is instigated by something entirely unknown. *Inspired by Maddie-babz and X.muse*
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

How she didn't want to let go. How she wished she could turn around and run back to him. But Susan Pevensie knew she couldn't return to her king, her Caspian. The only man who, in her lifetime as queen of Narnia, held only pure and humble love for her in his heart.

No other man would ever be as good as Caspian, she mused. No other man would look as good as him. The contours of his face; his body were permanently burned into her brain.

The strong, tanned, muscular, capable body. The tanned skin and dark brown hair. The deep alluring accent and the deep-brown, almost black eyes that drew her deeper and deeper.

So as she stepped through the portal back to England, she lifted her head once more and looked him squarely in the eye. Her eyes relayed her silent message, and it was received as Caspian dipped his head and broke their connection. Tears blurred in his eyes; tears that Susan didn't see.

The men and women gathered watched in fascination as the great King Caspian X crumbled before their very eyes. Steel determination entered his gaze as his head snapped up once more. As the portal began to close he cried out.

"I will find you, Susan! No matter where you are, I will find you!" and the mighty king sank to his knees.

"I. Will. Find you." He breathed, as tears overtook his eyes once more and took him into a pit of oblivion as the separation from his beloved Susan finally set in. The dread of the situation settled on him. Never again would he hear his name roll from her sweet tongue, never again would he be able to look into her silver-blue eyes that sparkled with silent wit and life. Never again would he be able to touch her milky-pale, pure body.

How could Aslan want an ending such as this? It wasn't fair. Aslan believed in righteousness, in justice. This wasn't just! It wasn't just at all.

Caspian rose silently, and found the square still full of people, looking at him. He brushed his tears away with his sleeve and allowed himself to take on a more regal, dominant appearance.

"Those who wish to redeem themselves will gather here. Aslan will take you to your new life, a good life. Allow your spirits to be healed, purified. Rest safe in the knowledge that you will one day return. For now, I am finished. Aslan will stay. That is all." He said, letting his eyes wander over the crowd of broken and lost Telmarines.

He wondered how many would stay, and how many would leave. But at that moment, they were the least of his concern. Caspian nodded his thanks to Aslan, and left the courtyard. He quickly found Destrier, and climbed him.

"To the palace." He whispered in the horse's ear. Destrier took off at a fast gallop, sensing his master's urgency to be gone. They quickly arrived, and Caspian took Destrier to the stables, and then left to his room.

He walked through the lighter corridors, taking notice of how the banishment of Miraz had affected the appearance of the place. It was lighter, as the corridors were adorned in rich red and gold tapestries.

Caspian arrived in his room. It had large windows giving him sweeping views of the woods, and a glimpse of the Narnian Sea. In the room stood a large, mahogany four-poster bed with a crimson red bed-spread and lighter red pillows strewn around the deeper mahogany headboard. On the opposite side of the bed stood an elaborate wardrobe, holding all of his clothes. Through a door on the right side of the bed was his bathroom, with rich marble floors and silver taps.

Caspian took off his sword belt and threw it, landing haphazardly on a chair beside his wardrobe. He fell back onto the bed and curled up, clenching his teeth together as he tried not to cry out loud. Pain ripped through his body as his other half was taken away from him.

_Why hadn't he done anything to stop her? Why hadn't he spoken out? Called to her?_ Gritting his teeth, he got up and ran through the castle, needing to get away from his room and his thoughts. He ran out to the forest, and walked until his feet ached. He lay down on a patch of moss without any second thought and allowed sleep to take his physically and mentally exhausted body.

* * *

Susan had heard him, his last words. '_I will find you',_ he had told her. And how she hoped he would. But deep down, she knew he couldn't. Her world and his world were realms apart. He could travel through time itself and still not find her.

She allowed herself to hold on to that little spark of hope. She held on to the hand-rail as the train she and her siblings were on sped through the countryside. She looked down and locked eyes with her little sister.

"Do you miss him?" Lucy asked gently. Susan closed her eyes. She missed him already. Her heart hurt, spearing physical pain through her body at being separated from its other half.

"Yes, Lu. I think I do. Do you?" Susan replied, giving her a gentle smile and then taking her eyes from Lucy's. She couldn't let her little sister see that deep hurt, pain and anguish that lay beyond her eyes. She had to steel herself. She had to pass through this.., this...Phase. This passing phase, she told herself. Yet her heart knew that it was everything but. Lucy leant against her older sister's frame.

"I don't know why, but I think everything will be alight, Su. I can feel it." the younger Pevensie said wisely. Peter and Edmund joined them in the hug, sending their sister their sympathies. The train thundered on.

* * *

Aslan came to Caspian in his dream, basking in his golden glow of radiance. He only said five words. "I will bring her back."

* * *

**I thought of this little fic after reading some truly inspirational ones by Maddie-Babz and . I'm a Suspian shipper through and through, and I wanted to have a go at writing and exploring their unique relationship. So I came up with this multi-chap story. It'll be six chapters or more, depending on how long I want to make it... I really hope you guys like this! As for Maddie-babz and . I hope I do you guys credit!**

**Summary: Caspain and Susan are in pain. Physical, unadulterated, unprohibited pain. Their hearts seek each other, and though realms apart, will find a way back to each other. Surely Aslan didn't want a fate as cruel as this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Susan pulled away from her siblings' hugs. She straightened up and gave them a smile. It never reached her eyes. Her sadness prevented her. The train creaked as it kept going, thundering over the rails that would lead them to their new school in the English countryside. Susan tried to pay no attention to the sound of the murmuring students and the train. Her thoughts wandered to a certain magical land, realms away from this one.

Narnia. It pained her heart knowing she would never return. She hadn't been gone for at least four hours, and she already missed the magical land where she was looked up to and respected. There, she was a Queen of old, the Queen Archer; best of Narnia and beyond. She was loved, admired; honoured.

In England she was frowned upon by other girls. Jealousy, hatred and envy pulsed thickly through the air whenever Susan walked into a room. Envied for her soft, brown hair that fell in natural waves and framed her pale, beautiful face. She missed Narnia and its magic. But she mostly missed a Who, not a What. Caspian, her heart yearned for him. But thinking about him made her heart hurt more.

She was actually getting headaches and cramps from being separated from him. She could only imagine what he must be feeling. She was snapped out of her reverie by young Lucy, who was pulling on her sleeve to get her attention.

"What is it, Lu?" Susan asked, worry etched onto her face. Peter and Edmund walked over to her as well. Their faces were frozen in expressions of confusion.

"What's happening?" Lucy asked them, looking up at her older brothers, and pressing her side against Peter's. Peter held tightly on to Lucy's shoulders, and brushed a lock of his sister's reddish-brown hair out of her face. Lucy's pale-blue eyes were dim with confusion and fear. Peter's blue eyes met Susan's, their thoughts mirroring each other's as they were trying to make sense of the situation. The train, she noticed, was creaking louder and louder. It rocked from side to side. And as far as Susan could tell, the train was slowing down rapidly. All of the other school kids in the train were oblivious to the noise and rocking, looking blankly out the window.

Edmund climbed up on a seat and stuck his head out of an open window. A few minutes passed, consisting of more creaking and rocking before Edmund pulled his head back. His unusual brown eyes were flecked with even more confusion than before. He climbed down from his seat and walked over to his brother and sisters.

"We're slowing down and I can see a tunnel approaching in the distance. What is going on?" He informed, ending his sentence with the question that they all wanted to know the answer to. Lucy looked at her siblings, finally coming to a stop on Peter.

"Is He calling us back?" She asked, with her voice whisper soft. It was something private between the group; they needed no inquiry to know what little Lucy was talking about. Susan looked at Peter, tears beginning to gather in the corners of her silvery-blue eyes.

"He told us we would never return. Why are we going now?" She wondered, as more tears blurred her sight. They couldn't be returning. She wondered how many years had passed in their time in the train. Was Caspian married? Was he dead? She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. It wound a chain around her heart and pulled until the point of combustion. It hurt too much.

Peter looked down. The High King looked lost for the first time in his life. His body stood slumped, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. He made no attempt to brush it out of them. "I don't know." He answered, just as lost for words as Susan, Edmund and Lucy were. The next minutes were filled with terse silence as the Pevensie siblings feared what would happen next.

The train entered the tunnel and abruptly stopped in the middle. The Pevensie siblings were thrown forward, crashing against each other, and in Peter's case, a large steel pole. He stumbled after getting to his feet, regaining his bearings from the impact. The other kids in the train looked blankly, with bored expressions. Time itself seemed to be frozen. Suddenly, the crows parted like the red sea, admitting a man in a navy train uniform. He went up to the doors and twisted a key in a lock beside them. The doors creaked open.

"Your stop," He said curtly. His face itself was haggard, pale and the eyes were empty. He gestured for the doors, now open. Peter looked at the man.

"You must have a mistake. We don't get off here." He said dismissively. His voice was strong, and held confidence. Confidence that Peter, in truth, didn't feel. The man shook his head.

"Your stop." He repeated. Peter turned to Susan. She looked out the doors. She turned back to Peter and nodded slowly.

"Aslan wills it." She whispered. That was all of the encouragement the Pevensie siblings needed, as they exited the train without their suitcases and bags. The doors slammed shut behind them. A great rush of air followed as the train took off as if it had never stopped. A bright pulsing of light came from the tunnel wall. The Pevensies all shielded their eyes. When they finally uncovered them, there was a collective gasp from all of them.

"Narnia!" Lucy cried, glee lacing her words. Susan herself couldn't believe it either. They were back! Her heart jumped, and then sank immediately. Caspian. Would she see him again? She snapped out of it, as Lucy gathered her attention.

"We're back, we're back! Can you believe it, Ed? We're back!" She cried, bouncing around the clearing in which they found themselves. Tall, green and healthy tress surrounded them. The grass was lush and soft. The sky was a lovely blue and the sun shone brightly in the sky. There was no mistaking it, they had returned to Narnia.

They took off their shoes and other clothes that were way too warm for the summer weather. Yet the big question was still unanswered.

"Why are we here?" Susan asked, taking it upon herself to ask the question that was all haunting their minds. The heavy question was shaken off, as the Pevensies relished in the fact that they had returned home once again.

"I think it's time to look around, make sense of where we are." Peter instructed. Without having anything else to do, the siblings were happy to follow Peter's lead. Soon, they were walking amidst the tall trees and shrubs, breathing in the magical Narnian air and feeling truly at home. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. And reported.

* * *

As the Pevensie children were on the train, three months had already passed. Caspian had become the meaning of broodiness, moody, unstable and always alone. He took out his anger on the training dummies, spending many hours a day at the training fields with Destrier and his sword.

When Aslan had appeared in his dream, he had felt relief and hope. But all hope diminished when two weeks later, Susan still wasn't by his side. Aslan had deceived him. Aslan had lied. Susan wasn't coming back. On the contrary, she would stay away from Narnia, as she had been doomed by Aslan never to return to the magical land again. Caspian hated his life. Without Susan, it just wasn't worth living.

Trumpkin and his friends tried desperately to soothe his ache, and make him feel better again. But Caspian was so far along that he would dismiss them, and shut himself off from the world. He would retreat to his chambers, the training fields or some other place where he would be alone. The desperation and depravity from being separated from Susan drew him deeper and deeper into the clutches of madness. Soon, it would be too late. He would be unable to be saved; to be drawn out of his own madness.

It was one of these afternoons, when he had shut himself off at the training fields, furiously hacking away at a straw training dummy. His aggression eventually weaned, leaving him with a powerful migraine and exhaustion. He sank to his knees and dropped his head into his hands.

"Your highness!" A gruff voice called out, smothering Caspian's rage as he was drawn back into the world around him. He lifted his head to see Trumpkin advancing rapidly on a dark-brown pony, as a horse was too big for the dwarf's size. Caspian rose, not bothering to hide his tormented expression from Trumpkin.

"Intruders, on the western border!" Trumpkin shouted, not getting off of his pony. Caspian quickly sheathed his sword, as genuine concern overtook his features. It was a small glimpse into the real king that lay under Caspian's haunted demeanour. He vaulted on to Destrier, and the two steeds took off into the forests.

"Any idea on who the intruders might be?" Caspian asked, breathless. Trumpkin's horse, Xavier, galloped on ahead with surprising speed for a pony. Trumpkin's words were lost in the whistling wind as the horses galloped on. Caspian and Destrier caught up to the thundering Trumpkin to hear his next words. "Friends of ours, Your Majesty. The kings and queens of old."

* * *

**WOOT! Two chapters in two days! Im on a roll! Hopefully I'll pump out another chapter or two tomorrow! The story is getting on nicely, and I'm realy excited by how it's turning out! I hope you guys are as excited by this chapter as I am! Anyway, let's get to it! Aaaand: LONGEST CHAPTER AS OF YET!**

**EDIT: If you guys got an email, I just changed the colour of Lucy's eyes when I realised when they were completely wrong...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia.. Sadly... **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Caspian knew that he had misheard Trumpkin. There was no way in Narnia that the Kings and Queens of Old had returned to Narnia. Aslan had transported them back to their world three months early. The thought thrust knives into his heart. He couldn't bear to think about it. He must have hallucinated. He **had** to have misheard. They couldn't be back.

He roughly shook his head, and galloped on ahead. He pulled Susan's horn from his belt and blew it. The ancient sound reverberated through the empty forest. Birds fluttered from trees as Caspian and Trumpkin rode past at break-neck speed. Caspian had held onto Susan's horn when she had departed from Narnia three months earlier. The sound of horn meant danger, and all of the available troops in the area were to assemble where the danger was. In a flash, a cheetah was running beside Destrier. She looked up at Caspian.

Myra, he recalled, was her name. "What is it, my lord?" she asked, managing to retain her speed, talk to Caspian and avoid any tripping hazards at the same time.

"Intruders," Caspian answered curtly. He would treat the matter this way, he decided. It would cost him too much heartache to get his hopes up, only to crash down again.

Susan heard her horn. The sound rolled through the forest, and sounded so familiar to her ears. Peter, Edmund and Lucy also shot upright at the sound of Susan's horn.

"That's my horn!" she cried indignantly.

"Is that what brought us back? Narnia is in danger again?" Lucy asked. Edmund went to stand beside her. He shook his head.

"Can't be. It must have been blown a few minutes ago. We've been in Narnia for over half an hour." He answered. Suddenly, the friendly chirping of the birds died and the forest went quiet. Lucy was about to say something, but Peter held a hand in front of her mouth.

"Listen," he whispered, gesturing to the forest. The siblings went quiet in an attempt to hear was Peter was indicating. Then, they heard it; a sound close to thunder, rapidly advancing on them. The ground seemed to tremble and the air seemed to hum. Susan could make out smaller noises amidst the rumbling earth. Puma cries, wolf howls and galloping horses. The noise was almost upon them.

"DUCK!" Peter shouted, as loud as he could. The world seemed to explode around them as the clearing burst into noise. Suddenly, the Pevensies found themselves circled on all sides by big cats, wolves, centaurs and men on horseback. A sword was thrust under Peter's chin, lifting it.

"State your purpose here, Intruder!" Came a heavily accented Spanish voice. A voce that nearly drew Susan to her knees. She didn't dare lift her head. She couldn't bear looking him in the eye, facing the hurt he must feel.

"Answer me!" Caspian snarled.

"Caspian?" inquired a small, gentle voice. Caspian's eyes flitted from Peter to the speaker; Lucy. In a flash he remembered them. He dropped his sword almost immediately, and quickly sheathed it. "High King Peter?" He asked, getting off of Destrier. At the mention of Peter's name, the animals surrounding them stopped bristling, snarling and scraping their limbs on the earthy ground. They backpedalled quickly, dispersing around the siblings and taking an audience behind Caspian and Trumpkin. Trumpkin himself looked deeply shocked. He sheathed his dagger and hopped off of Xavier.

"King Edmund? Queen Lucy? Queen Susan?" Caspian faltered slightly on the last word, his heart ache getting the better of him. Slowly, the four Pevensies lifted their heads, one by one. Peter lifted his head first, looking every bit the High King. Edmund was next, looking up at Caspian, and then issuing a polite nod. Lucy had already lifted hers and with brightly shining eyes took in Trumpkin. He was trying to hide a smile upon seeing his old friend. Susan was last, tentatively lifting her head to look at Caspian.

Her heart did a little tap dance when she did. He hadn't changed a bit. If anything, he seemed to be stronger, more tanned, more intelligent, but most all, a better king. His eyes, which before had been filled with harshness and bluntness, were now soft with compassion. Behind the compassion lay great hurt, but not because of what Susan had done. Because of what the separation had done to him; done to both of them.

Caspian too, had been incredibly apprehensive to look Susan in the eye. When she eventually met his eyes, it took all of his self-control not to run to her and envelop her in his arms. There would be time for that later. The silver-blue pools were as deep as ever, yet dim with worry and heartache. Susan's eyes missed their usual lustre, their spark. Nonetheless, Caspian thought she was still beautiful. Time seemed to slow as they looked at each other; finally, Susan peeled her gaze away.

Peter stepped forward. "In the flesh." He said, sticking out his hand for Caspian to shake. It surprised him when Caspian didn't. Instead, he grabbed it and pulled Peter to him in a brotherly hug. He clapped the High King on the back and released him.

"Narnia has missed you, Peter." He said, grinning. Peter grinned back. Edmund approached Caspian and clapped him on the back.

"Nice to be back again," He said, shaking Caspian's hand vigorously. Caspian returned Edmund's warm smile. The two brothers went on to greet Myra, Glenstorm, and Asterius. Lucy threw herself at Caspian, hugging him fiercely.

"I've missed you so much!" she cried. Caspian bent down and hugged her back.

"And I, you." He cooed. He released her and watched in amusement as she greeted Trumpkin by another big hug. They were becoming a trademark move. Caspian turned back to Susan and suddenly, all of the words he was planning to say died on his tongue. He was speechless. "Queen Susan," he managed to say valiantly, bowing. He straightened up again with a smile. Susan curtsied, and then they just stared at each other. As desperately as they tried, they couldn't overcome the awkwardness of the moment.

Their moment was interrupted by a loud 'Oomph' coming from a very distressed looking Trufflehunter. Susan and Caspian turned to see the old badger sprawled on the ground.

"Ugh, my head! What did I miss? I heard the horn!" He cried. Susan chuckled, drawing Trufflehunter's eyes to her.

"Queen Susan!" He cried, jolting. "High King Caspian!" He jolted again. "King Edmund! King Peter! Queen Lucy!" he called all of their names in quick succession, and looked close to passing out. Lucy rushed to his aid. "Trufflehunter!" She called, wrapping her arms around the badger.

"Oh," Trufflehunter looked stunned, "Hello, Dear." He wrapped his paws around the little girl, happy to be reunited with the gently Queen. Trumpkin's eyes scanned over the kings and queens. "By Aslan, do you look terrible!" He called out, eyes widening, "We can't leave the Kings and Queens in this attire! Come on, up to the palace! Come on!" He called, waving frantically with his paws. And so, the awkwardness was diffused immediately. The Animals, Centaurs and Kings and Queens were up and walking towards the castle in seconds, a muttering and cursing Trufflehunter in tow.

* * *

**So, here it is; chapter 3. I'm really happy with how the story is turning out. I managed to upload two chapters in a day, so I'm ecstatic! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am! Please leave a review, my faithful readers, they are much appreciated...**

**Enjoy!**

**~SunsetWanderer**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The walk to the castle was shorter than Susan had expected it, but maybe it was because Caspian was with her. They didn't speak, but she was just content to walk alongside Lucy and listen to the handsome Telmarine and his accent. The forest around her was serene and quiet, and she felt at utter peace. Her muscles were relaxed, a difference from the tenseness she had felt when she was on the train. Her heartbeat slowed down, and the thoughts in her head whizzed around slower than before.

"How much time has passed?" Peter asked. Caspian looked a bit uncomfortable. His thoughts wandered to the afternoon when they had left. Today, it was officially three months and a week. "Three months and a week." Caspian answered curtly. Peter nodded.

"Have any of our neighbouring countries causing you any trouble at all?" He inquired. Caspian smiled a bit.

"No, thankfully not. Archenland is faithful as always and Calormen has rejected all claims for a mutual truce." He answered. Susan felt her knees go weak. His accent did that to her.

Edmund piped up beside them, "Must be a good day, then!" And the Kings and queens laughed. The rest of the journey was filled with more light-hearted, playful banter as they made their way to Caspian's castle. The sun was setting, and soon it would be night.

It soon became clear that they weren't going to Caspian's castle, after all. "Caspian?" Lucy asked, "Where are we going?" Caspian grinned, knowing that his answer would surprise them all. "Cair Paravel," He answered.

Peter answered immediately. "Has it been repaired? Surely it didn't take three months?!" Caspian smiled. From the moment the Pevensies had returned to their world, he had started to re-build Cair Paravel as a legacy of their influence on Narnia. Besides, Miraz' castle felt too dark for a Narnian king. Cair Paravel had been completed three days earlier, and everything had been moved in yesterday. Cair Paravel was the real castle, as all of the history was there. It was the original castle and was the only place worthy enough to house the new High King, as well as the Kings and Queens of old.

As if on cue, the magnificent castle rose up in front of them, above the treetops. The kings and queens looked on in pride as they saw the castle. It was almost exactly like they had left it. This Cair Paravel was a perfect replica of the one that used to stand in its place. Lucy smiled brightly and ran on ahead excitedly. Edmund chased after her. Minutes later Peter, Susan and Caspian came to spot where they had run to. The giant castle looked even better up close.

"Follow me," Caspian instructed, and waved for them to follow. The five kings and queens crossed over a large bridge made out of stone, full of people still carrying small personal possessions for safe-keeping in the castle. They murmured and whispered, and bowed as the royals walked past them. Caspian lead them to a large gathering hall. He opened two large mahogany doors and the Kings and queens quickly pooled inside. They found themselves in the throne room. It took their breath away.

The room was shaped like a huge rectangle. The stone walls were adorned in rich red, silver, blue and gold tapestries. Torches lit up the room, but most of the light fell through the stained glass roof above their heads. The stone floors were flawless. Marble pillars stood in rows all the way to the end of the room. In between the tapestries, there were windows. They were open, welcoming Narnia's magical air inside. At the end of the room was a large elevated platform, with several steps leading up to the top. A big stained glass mosaic of Aslan looked over the throne room. Five thrones stood at the top. On was bigger and more elaborate than the others, but the four others looked just as good.

The thrones were made of marble, with a plump coloured pillow on the seat. Edmund's throne was on the far left, with a dark green pillow on his seat; to symbolise the western woods, after which he was crowned. Peter's throne was next, with a lighter blue pillow; to symbolise the clear northern sky. On the far right was Lucy, with a royal blue pillow to symbolise the Eastern Sea. Next to Lucy's throne was Susan's. Her throne had a gold pillow; to symbolise her realm; the radiant southern sun. In the middle of Peter and Susan's stood the biggest and most elaborate throne. It was Caspian's. His throne had a rich purple pillow, to symbolise the fall of Telmar and the rise of Narnia.

Of their own accord, the Kings and Queens of old rose to their thrones to claim them. Peter's eyes followed the roof. His heart swelled with pride when he took in the throne room. The place itself looked fantastic. They finally came to a rest on Caspian's throne.

"You have done an amazing job, Caspian." He said. Caspian knelt and bowed his head in respect for the ancient rulers in front of him. Peter shook his head. "That is no place for a King of Narnia. You're among us, now." He said. Caspian rose, and with a grateful and somewhat stunned expression joined the Pevensies on their thrones. He sat down in his own, and allowed his eyes to travel the same path Peter's had. He was proud of what he had done. He was happy that Peter was proud of **him.**

He cleared his throat, remembering why they were here. "Your rooms are in exactly the same place as you left them. You will find a trunk with clean clothes." He said quickly, looking intently at Susan. She could truly be beautiful in everything she wore. Her Finchley school uniform was somewhat dirty and torn, but she made it look cute. Her chestnut hair hung in natural waves around her shoulders and her eyes had been given their sparkle again. His eyes quickly flitted away.

Peter nodded his thanks to Caspian, and then left with his siblings to find their rooms. Lucy was first to find hers. Her room was located in one of the spires facing the Eastern Sea. The room was circular, with a set of stone steps leading to a loft. She walked inside and sighed at the familiarity of the room. Squarely opposite the door was a window, with under it a small sofa. Several royal blue pillows were strewn over the small sofa. The sofa was facing a large fireplace; wood was already burning friskily away. Across the room, beside another window stood a white canvas with pots of paint already out and ready. The walls were adorned with many of Lucy's own paintings, which she had created during their first visit to Narnia.

Lucy climbed the steps leading up to her circular loft. In the middle of the room stood a large four-poster mahogany bed with a royal blue bedspread and white pillows. At the feet-end of the bed stood Lucy's trunk. She opened it to find all of her dresses neatly folded inside. She quickly rifled through them and picked out her favourite.

She got changed into her dress. It was a warm cream gown, with a cream bodice and light-blue embroidery on both the bodice and dress. The hem of her cream dress was cut short to show off the light-blue under-dress that was underneath. She slipped her dagger and her cordial, which she had also found in her trunk, into a belt which she tied around her waist. She shook out her hair and allowed it to fall onto her shoulders before descending the steps and leaving her room in search of the throne room.

* * *

Susan made her way to her room. Her room, too, was located in one of the spires in the castle. But whereas Lucy's faced the Eastern Sea, hers faced the south, where the sun rose. Her room was identical to Lucy's, but her bedspread was gold, as well as her pillows. Her windows were bigger; allowing more sunlight to pool into her room. Instead of a window beside her sofa, there was a set of double doors.

The doors led out onto a small balcony, overlooking the forests. Susan too, was changed in a short amount of time into a cream and gold dress. The corset was cream with gold stitching. The skirt pooled around her feet in golden waves. It was simple, yet elegant and comfortable. She shook out her hair and then left to find the throne room.

* * *

Peter made his way down the northern corridors. He soon found his old room. Enlightened, he stepped inside. The room screamed familiarity. It was large and square, with stone floors and walls. In the middle stood a large ebony four-poster bed with a light-blue duvet and white sheets. A large engraving of Aslan hung over the headboard of his bed. On the left side of the bed was a small alcove with a table and pots of ink, quills for writing and fresh parchment. Opposite the bed was a large stone fireplace. His trunk stood at the foot-end of his bed, as all of the trunks did.

He went over to his trunk immediately, and was pleased to find his old clothes in there. He took his sword and unsheathed it, watching the evening light play over the blade. He sheathed it and got changed into his Narnian attire; Black pants and a white shirt. He threw on a brown leather jerkin and put on a pair of black leather boots. He fastened his sword belt around his waist and left the room. He walked in the direction of the throne room, knowing Caspian would be there, waiting for him.

* * *

Edmund was the last to leave the throne room, but ironically, the first to arrive. He had found his room, overlooking the dense, but plentiful western wood in the blink of an eye. His room was identical to Peter's. He went inside and walked straight towards his trunk. He opened his trunk and changed into brown pants with a white short and a brown leather jerkin. He put on some black leather boots and fastened his sword belt around his waist.

Knowing that Father Christmas hadn't given him anything still served to be a reminder about his betrayal of his siblings. He shook his head clear of those thoughts. He conversed with Caspian until his siblings arrived. Lucy was first bounding over to the two men and giving them equally big hugs. Peter was next greeting his brother with a handshake and Caspian with a polite nod. Susan was last. Time seemed to stand still was she made her way over to them.

Caspian seemed frozen in shock. His mouth hung wide open. She walked elegantly over to him with the golden dress pooling around her feet, her blue eyes shining with enthusiasm. He had never imagined her to be this beautiful. His heart ached at the separation he had felt between them, but now she was back, he had full intention to keep her in Narnia. He couldn't lose her. Not again.

Susan stopped opposite him. "Susan," he started, "You look-" His words were cut off by a messenger faun who burst into the throne room. "Your majesties," he panted, "Aslan requests an audience with you!"

* * *

**Two chapters in a day, as promised! I'm so happy I managed to accomplish this! I wrote the previous chapter at 9 this morning, then I had to do chores around the house, and I still managed to write and upload this little chappie after coming home at 5. **

**So, I meant for it to be a filler, for the next chapter, but then it turned out to be 2.000 words long. Go figure. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! There's not a lot of Suspian fluff in this, but I'm still happy with how it turned out.**

**I just want to give a shout-out to all of my amazing followers, readers and reviewers, you guys are the best! There's no better feeling for a writer to know that his/her story is read and appreciated, so thank you, guys, really. **

**Aaaah... CLIFFHANGER! Watch out for the next chapter, I promise it'll be up in two - three days. **

**~SunsetWanderer**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Very well, take us to him, please." Caspian answered. The messenger faun bowed.

"As you wish, your majesties." He said.

Susan's heart sank. This was it. She knew it. Their coming to Narnia had been nothing but a mistake, and now Aslan was calling them back to redeem it. They would be sent back to England, and that would be the end of this fantastic adventure that she had the pleasure of experiencing. She raised her eyes to swap worried glances with Peter and Edmund. Peter especially, looked just as worried as she did. A knot of worry, fear and apprehension settled in Susan's stomach. Peter slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"It'll be okay, Su. We'll work something out." He whispered in her ear, furiously trying to blink back tears of his own. Susan nodded in understanding.

Caspian watched the interaction between the two, and cursed himself for his rotten luck. How on earth did he fall for one for of the most beautiful, gentlest, fiercest girl he had ever met? How was it possible, that right at the apex of their budding relationship, she was mercilessly ripped away from him? It wasn't fair. He wanted to be the one putting an arm around her shoulders, whispering that everything would be okay.

He cleared his head and moved to walk beside Edmund, who had faded into the background silently, not wanting to be part of the moment. Edmund raised his head to look Caspian in the eye, and the look of the deepest anguish in them said enough. Edmund, too, read the mirroring expression in Caspian's eyes. The two foster brothers walked side by side, never speaking, but under a complete spell of mutual agreement.

Lucy seemed to be the only one not carrying the heavy weight of helplessness on her shoulders. She bounced around, happily walking beside the messenger faun and energetically talking to him. He reminded her of , for he was just as endearingly compassionate and clumsy. Lucy was beside herself in excitement. After a few hours in a train, she was in Narnia again, and what's more, they were going to see Aslan again! Even a few hours away from the magical land had made her realise how much she had missed the Great Lion.

The walk was painfully short, reminding the older Pevensies how short-lived their stay would **really** be. The faun had explained, on the way, that Aslan would be waiting for them in the gardens. Lucy had been ecstatic at that comment, for the gardens were her favourite place to be back in the golden age. The gardens were beautiful, refurbished in all of their former glory. Susan marvelled at the quality of which the castle and the surrounding grounds had been restored. It was as if Cair Paravel had never been destroyed at all. But the amazing castle and gardens only wound a wire tighter and tighter around her heart, because she knew that she would have to leave the glorious castle behind.

Finally, rounding an apple tree, there stood Aslan. He radiated golden light as the sun's rays hit him, bathing all in his splendour. The Pevensies and Caspian sank to the ground in front of him, kneeling and bowing their heads.

"Rise, kings and queens of Narnia." He said, the deep baritone of his voice sending shivers up all of their spines. Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy and Caspian all stood up simultaneously. Lucy's eyes shone with happiness, and seconds later, she smothered the Great Lion in a hug. Aslan chuckled.

"Hello, dear one." He whispered into her hair. Lucy pulled back and with a content sigh, joined her siblings. Aslan's golden eyes swept over the faces of the kings and queens in front of him.

"You are wondering what brought you here, and if you are here to stay." He said, voicing their thoughts aloud. Aslan smiled, putting them all at ease. "You have been brought back because for two reasons. One, I realised my mistake by sending you back. If I had not called you back, I would have let two souls die, two souls that are much happier when they are together." He explained. Under hooded eyelashes, Susan looked at Aslan, knowing that inevitably, he was speaking of her and Caspian.

"Two," he continued, "I saw how difficult it was for you to continue to live without Narnia. This is your true home. England was merely a place of residence. In Narnia you **truly** lived. Even I could not bear to take that away from you." Peter's shoulders suddenly tensed. He stepped forward.

"Aslan, please forgive me, but does this mean that we will be sent back at the end of our stay?" His voice broke twice during the sentence, as the mental wall holding all of his emotions broke. The fore-sight of leaving Narnia was too much to bear. He couldn't live with himself if he had to again.

The knot in Susan's stomach rose to her throat. Tears began to blur her eyesight as she waited in terse apprehension for Aslan's answer. Leaving would kill her, surely. A life without Caspian was one not worth living.

Edmund, too, steeled his gaze and braced himself for Aslan's inevitable answer. He couldn't bear leaving again. He saw how deeply it affected Peter and Susan, and even little Lucy seemed mortified at the prospect of leaving their magical land.

Aslan slowly shook his head, his expression flat. "You no longer exist in your world, Peter. Even if you were to return, there would be no world for you to return to. You will not be sent back. That is, if you want to stay in Narnia forever. By my law, I permit you. Do you wish to stay? " he asked. The siblings didn't even need deliberation.

Peter smiled and answered. "We do." Aslan smiled.

"Then so let it be." At the last sentence, a collective sigh of relief came from all of the siblings' mouths, even Caspian's. Peter's shoulders sagged, all of his muscles relaxing from the effort of keeping him composed. Tears once again blurred Susan's eyesight, but of relief, not sadness.

She collapsed in her older brother's arms, and cried silently. Lucy, too, had tears of intense relief streaming down her face. She tugged on Peter's sleeve. Caspian took Susan's shaking shoulders and looked at Peter. Peter nodded in gratitude and allowed Susan to be taken into the safe haven of Caspian's arms, as he took Lucy.

Susan buried her face into Caspian's strong shoulder, and suddenly she felt as if she was standing in the courtyard once more, saying goodbye. But that situation was far from this one. She wrapped her arms further around him and lost herself in the embrace. She thoroughly enjoyed the Telmarine's strong, tanned arms around her body, holding her close; keeping her safe.

Caspian allowed Susan to sob into his shoulder, as he out his arms around her, pressing her further into his strong embrace. He pressed his lips to her shoulder, silently thanking Aslan. He was beyond grateful that Susan and her siblings had been allowed to stay. They had grown close over the months and he would have hated to lose them.

Edmund stood alone, his expression frozen in a mix of amazement and interest. Suddenly he stepped forward, drawing the embracing siblings out of their reverie. "How?" he asked.

Aslan smiled. "The train you were on never made it to the schools. It crashed in the very tunnel you were dropped off in, by another train. Nobody made it out of the wreck alive." He explained. Edmund nodded in understanding. A smile dawned on his face. "Well, what are you standing around here for? Let's celebrate!" he called to his siblings. Lucy smiled and gave her older brother a hug.

"Race you to the castle?" Edmund challenged. Lucy laughed, "You're on!" and they sped off towards the castle. Susan, Peter and Caspian laughed at their antics. Susan turned back to Aslan and gave a small curtsy in gratitude. "Thank you." She whispered. Aslan smiled and nodded.

As they made their way back to the castle, Susan's mind was still numb from the recent events. She was dizzy, almost giddy at what had just happened. She couldn't get her mind around the fact that they were allowed to stay. Forever. Peter seemed just as shell-shocked. Not to mention Caspian, who walked just as dazed beside her. She became very conscious of the fact that they were walking very close together. A slight blush rose to her cheeks as she remembered their little moment before Aslan and her siblings earlier.

They arrived in the throne room, where Edmund and Lucy were talking animatedly. They were obviously very excited about something. The three joined Edmund and Lucy. "So, Ed," Peter began, his blue eyes were shining with enthusiasm. "You said something about a celebration. Any ideas?" Edmund smiled, already excited. "A ball."

* * *

**TA-DA! Okay, so I kinda lied about the date I'd update the story..But, on the bright side, I'll post two chapters today to make it up to you guys! A BIG SHOUT OUT to all of my reviewers.. You guys are amazing! Reviews keep the proverbial story ball rolling, and you encourage me to use this creative spirit of mine and write more chapters! **

**Sophie Pevensie Apollo's Child - Yes, to recap, the Pevensie kids have been away from Narnia for just the train ride. They were on the train for about two hours when they were returned to Narnia. Two hours for them, three months for Narnia. **

**Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

About half a week later, preparations for the ball in honour of the Kings and Queens of Old were well under way. Caspian had decided to use the grand ball room for the celebration, since it was far away the biggest room and the best equipped to house many people in the castle. Caspian was solely responsible for the program, the layout of the ball room and many other things that needed his undivided attention. The Pevensies had asked him many times to help out, but Caspian had dismissed their efforts saying that 'it was his pleasure to arrange the ball'. Without the ball to plan out, the siblings took to many other forms of leisurely enjoyment.

Peter and Edmund went out riding every day. They would travel to the training fields or just lose themselves in the Narnian forests. On this particular afternoon, they were sparring in the training fields. Susan and Lucy were watching, happy to see both their brothers restored to their former happiness. With no impending deadline, the siblings were absolutely free of any kind of worry. Edmund and Peter stood opposite each other, breathing heavily. This was the fifth round of sparring. They stood even, with Edmund having two wins over Peter and vice versa.

Suddenly, in a moment of silence, Edmund charged forward. Peter, however, was ready. Edmund swung his sword into peter's unguarded stomach, which Peter parried, leaving Edmund open. Peter jabbed his sword forward, but Edmund was faster, bringing his sword to block Peter's jab. Peter regained his balance and swung his sword in a wide arc back towards Edmund's knees. Edmund jumped over and brought the butt of his sword into Peter's shoulder. Peter cried out in pain, but slashed his sword upwards in a diagonal line nonetheless.

Edmund jumped back, using energy that he didn't have by pushing Peter to the ground. Peter got to his feet and changed from defence to offense. Edmund parried each blow with obvious skill, yet he couldn't stop himself from walking backwards a few paces every time Peter swung his sword. Finally, he surprised Peter by bringing his sword up and putting the tip under his chin. Peter staggered backwards, and Edmund took the opportunity to wrest his brother's sword from his hands. The weapon clattered onto the ground. Edmund smiled triumphantly. He held out his hand, which peter took. He hoisted his brother up and clapped him on the back.

"Nicely done, Ed." He praised. Edmund smiled and turned to his siblings, who had burst out in claps and cheers. Peter looked up at the brightly shining Narnian sun. "Let's go back to the castle," he suggested, "We might even make it back for lunch."

* * *

After lunch, both Peter and Edmund retired to their chambers. Susan and Lucy decided to do the same, though Lucy went to Susan's room minutes after they separated, unable to stay away from her older sister. They sat on Susan's bed, looking out the window. "What are you going to wear?" Lucy asked her. Susan smiled. "I haven't thought about that, actually. Have you?" she answered honestly. Lucy started to ramble on about her dress, describing it in vivid detail. Susan was with her physically, though her thoughts strayed to a certain Telmarine Prince, or King rather. They did that often, ever since she'd returned.

His dreamy smile, those dark, almost black eyes and his strong and tanned stature. He made it impossible **not** to like him. She wondered if he would like to dance with her at the ball. Oh, what was she thinking?! Of course he would!

"Susan?" Lucy's voice brought her out of her trance. "Yes?" she answered immediately. A mischievous grin appeared on Lucy's face.

"You were thinking about Caspian, weren't you?" she accused. Susan tried to look mortified, but failed miserably.

"How can you tell?" she asked her younger sister. Lucy smiled.

"You get that dreamy look in your eyes." She answered. Susan sighed. Her little sister was wiser than she thought.

"Okay, enough about Caspian," Susan said dismissively. "Let's go pick out my dress." And she pulled Lucy up with her. Lucy squealed in excitement and bounded ahead, down the stone steps to Susan's wardrobe. She began rifling through dresses, picking out the ones she thought would look best on Susan as the older sister in question watched her little sister with amusement. Finally, she found the best one and laid it out for Susan to see. Susan nodded in agreement, a smile forming on her face. It was going to be perfect.

* * *

**Two chapters! Yay :D This one is a little filler for the next chapter; The ball. It's short, and although it's not one of the best i've ever written, it's still a chapter, right? Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh! I forgot! Here's the ages of our beloved characters. I should have done it in the first chapter, but I managed to forget. Here you go; (They're in order of eldest to youngest)**

**Peter: 18 **

**Caspian: 18**

**Susan: 17**

**Edmund: 15**

**Lucy: 13**

**Soon, I'll be introducing a new character to the story. An OC, if you will. Looking forward to it! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Finally, after another two days of planning, the evening of the ball had arrived. Caspian had spent many days fretting, worrying; fearing about how the ball would turn out. He hoped that what he had planned would do the Kings and Queens of old justice. Right now, he was looking over the last of the arrangements for the ball room.

The large, marble floored rectangular room was lit with warm, golden torch-light and looked quite inviting. The normal wall hangings had been replaced by rich tapestries depicting the kings and queens of old in their various adventures. Three tables had been set up at the back of the room in a 'U' shape, filled with a variety of dishes of various shapes, sizes and flavours, as well as desserts. The third table, the underside of the 'U', was dubbed 'The drinks table'.

Big centrepieces of edible trees adorned the middles of the tables. The sun was setting, and Caspian still had to prepare himself for the ball. Nodding his thanks to one of his servants, he excused himself and made his was to his chambers.

* * *

Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan were all sitting together in Peter's room. They were talking softly. "How do you think Caspian went, with arranging the ball and everything?" Edmund asked.

Peter smirked arrogantly. "Well he better have done a good job. Might chop off his head," he said.

"Peter!" Susan scolded and smacked him lightly, a smile on her face. Edmund responded with a loud,

"I'm High King Peter! Hear me roar!" And he banged his chest with two fists. Lucy and Susan burst out laughing, especially when Peter began to turn a fantastic shade of red.

"Come on Ed, let's go change." He muttered embarrassedly, making his siblings laugh even harder. Peter and Edmund left, leaving the two sisters on their own. Susan smiled at Lucy. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Have you got your dress?" she asked. Lucy grinned.

"Of course! Have you got yours?" To which Susan nodded.

"Let's go change." Susan said. Lucy nodded, and headed to her own room. After her little sister's departure, she sat down on her sofa and sighed. She saw her dress on a small chair beside her. She was indeed happy with her sister's choosing. She wondered what Caspian would think. Taking the garment from the chair, she walked into her bathroom. A hot bath was in order, and then she would change.

* * *

Peter and Edmund were the first of the four to enter the ball room. They entered through two large mahogany double doors that lead from the throne room. Both were taken aback by the massive change the room had undergone. The whole room was basked in a soft, golden glow, by numerous torches hanging on the walls under the elaborate tapestries. The rest of the room was cleared for dancing.

Peter and Edmund walked by the tables, impressed by the vast variety of food they held. Roast pig, lamb, and beef with vegetables. The dishes smelt amazing, and were begging to be indulged in. The desserts on the tables were all sorts of pastries, sweet treats and ice-creams. Finally, the drinks table (Which Edmund was instantly attracted to) was laid out with bottles of faun wine, carafes of water and mountains of crystal glasses and goblets.

"Do you like it?" came Caspian's voice, startling both of the kings. Peter turned around. Caspian was dressed accordingly, in black boots and pants, with a light-cream lace shirt. He wore a Telmarine brigandine over the top. This brigandine, though, was dyed red, in honour of Narnia's colours. His sword hung at his side. His new crown was held in Caspian's other hand. He felt so self-conscious wearing it.

"Yes, you did quite well." Peter answered. With a mischievous grin, Edmund stepped forward. The Just king was dressed in brown pants and boots, with a cream undershirt and a dark green jacket over the top. His sword was sheathed, and hung in the belt by his right hip. His silver crown rested atop his head.

"He threatened to have your head cut off if you didn't do a good job. Sorry, Pete. Maybe next time." And he clapped his brother on the shoulder with an apologetic expression. Caspian stifled a smirk at Edmund's triumphant face. Peter ground out his next words.

"How long did it take for you to plan all this?" He asked. Caspian smiled and took in the former High King. Peter was wearing pants with a softer shade of brown, with a royal blue shirt with flaring sleeves. Black boots were worn on the king's feet, and Rhindon was sheathed by his side. The king's old crown rested on his head.

"A week. Including the smaller bits and pieces." He explained. Peter nodded approval and shifted his eyes to Edmund, who was already sipping wine out of a goblet.

"Ed!" he chastised. Caspian smirked.

"What?!" Edmund defended himself. "I got thirsty!"

Caspian laughed. "Come on," he said. "It is time to let the people in."

He signalled to the Crier, a faun named Halias. The faun blew a horn, and the large double doors leading into the throne room were opened. Throngs of people walked inside. Peter, Edmund and Caspian moved towards them and began shaking and kissing hands, welcoming the lords and ladies to the ball.

"How many did you invite?" Peter hissed through his teeth to Caspian after pulling him aside, somewhat nervously.

Caspian smirked. "As much as necessary, my king." He said, bowing gallantly. Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Edmund smirk.

Caspian grinned and began his speech.

"Lords and Ladies, a week ago, our Kings and Queens of old returned to Narnia after being gone for over three months. Aslan has since then permitted them to stay. Tonight, we rejoice over the eternal stay of our Kings and Queens. May their wisdom grace us all until the starts rain down from the heavens." He said, repeating the words Aslan had said to them at their coronation after the Hundred Year Winter. "The queens will arrive shortly. For now, enjoy yourselves. They shall not be long." He said. The moment he finished, the guests began to mingle among themselves. Caspian, Peter and Edmund joined them. The sound of talking voices rose, smothering the silence. The fauns began to play soft music.

The first people Edmund and Peter talked to were lords from Archenland. Caspian talked to Glenstorm and his wife. They walked around the room, talking to many people before the Queens finally arrived. A horn was sounded, and Halias took his spot beside the grand stair case that was built in between two windows in the left wall of the throne room.

"Your honours, announcing the arrival of Her majesty, Queen Lucy the Valiant!" He cried, signalling Lucy's arrival. All of the talking silenced as they turned towards the double doors. They opened, and in the doorway stood a beaming Lucy. Dressed in an elegant gown woven of the finest fabrics, she made her way down the steps into the ballroom. The skirt of her dress was crimson red, with an upside down 'V' cut in the middle to show her cream under dress. The gown reached her ankles. The bodice was cream with red, orange and gold embroidery. Rubies were sewn into the bodice. Lucy's hair was lightly curled and hung onto her shoulders. Her crown of woven silver flowers sat perfectly perched on the top of her head. The guests clapped and bowed as she made her way down. Trumpkin stood at the bottom of the small steps, and held onto Lucy's arm as she stepped down.

The valiant gesture gave Caspian an idea, and he made his way to the staircase. Finally, the call sounded for the most anticipated Queen of the night, according to Caspian's slightly biased opinion. "Your honours," Called Halias. "Announcing the arrival of Her majesty, Queen Susan the Gentle!" and multiple horns sounded. All of the eyes in the ballroom turned towards the double doors. For Caspian, time seemed to stand still. His eyes wandered to the opening between the doors, where Susan stood. She wore an off-the-shoulders rich purple dress. The front was cut low, but only showing the barest hint of cleavage. The sleeves ended at the wrists and flared out slightly. The skirt, bodice and corset were adorned with pearls and cream embroidery. Her dark-brown hair was curled at the ends and swept back. Two small braids on either side of her head held it in place. Her golden crown sat on top of her head, though she felt more embarrassed than enlightened to wear it. Her alabaster skin seemed to shine with the radiance and beauty she was emitting. She walked down the steps, and in sub-conscious thought, Caspian walked up it to meet her. He took her hand and kissed it. The dark orbs of his eyes shone in the dancing light of the torches, and it made his naturally tanned skin seem even more so.

"You look amazing." He told her in utmost sincerity. Susan smiled shyly and took Caspian's arm, allowing herself to be taken down the stairs by her escort. Lucy took Susan's other arm, and together they made their way to centre of the room. The guests bowed, clapped and curtsied at the arrival of the two queens. Caspian lifted his goblet of wine. His mind was still somewhat muddled by Susan's entrance, but he shook it off and called out a toast. "To the kings and queens of old!" He called, lifting his goblet of wine higher. The guests clinked their glasses together, and began to talk again.

The fauns began to play lively music, and the patrons took to the dance floor. Ladies twirled in their expensive dresses whilst lords looked on or otherwise participated. The fauns and centaurs joined in, to everyone's enjoyment.

Caspian followed Susan with envious eyes as she was twirled around in some Lord's arms. Envy and jealousy were sharp thorns thrust into his heart. His eyes narrowed. Under his calm façade there was suddenly a sharp insight into what Caspian must have felt during his and Susan's separation.

"Go on," a voice sounded next to him, making him jump. He pivoted on his foot faster than was humanely possible, and came face-to-face with Edmund. "Cut in." Edmund urged further, inclining his head towards the dancing couple. Caspian looked sour. Edmund had to suppress a laugh at his friend's face. Caspian cast another lingering, wishing look in Susan's direction. "I can't," he finally managed to say, "It would be dishonourable for me to do so..." he said. Edmund rolled his eyes. He roughly shoved Caspian in Susan's direction without any notice, and the sudden movement made the wine in Caspian's goblet slosh over the sides.

"Go." Edmund hissed through clenched teeth. Caspian glared at Edmund, but acquiesced. He put down his goblet and walked over to Susan and the lord she was dancing with.

"May I cut in?" he asked the lord politely. The older man smiled. "Of course, your majesty." And he kissed Susan's hand and left. Caspian took Susan in his arms and fought the urge to sigh with relief as she was returned to him. Susan smiled a smile that lit up her whole face and made her glow. She twirled over the dance floor, allowing Caspian to lead her in their dance. She felt so safe, so secure, knowing that Caspian would gladly lay down his life for her. Her feelings were still intact, and this contact between them only served to intensify them more. Susan herself didn't know what to think of them. She felt attraction to Caspian, but she didn't know if he still felt the same.

Caspian was extremely aware of her close presence as they danced. The old fire within him was rekindled, flaming further and further until he was consumed by it. He felt so alive with her in his arms, and everything suddenly made sense again, as if loose ends of a rope were tied together. But there was also fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. He was afraid of her feelings. Did she still feel the same way he did? He was so afraid of rejection. Three months had almost killed him. Now that Susan was staying in Narnia, rejection just wasn't an option anymore.

They shared more dances; each of them reminded them how much they had missed each other. Finally, they separated. Susan went to dance with Peter, whilst Caspian danced with Lucy.

"I don't approve of you friendship with this boy," Peter said, stiff as a rake. Susan threw her head back and laughed loudly. Peter tried to shush her, but failed miserably. "Really, peter. 'You do not approve'" she repeated and laughed again. Pairs of eyes were turning their way as ears tried to make sense what was getting the Gentle Queen in such a state. Peter was blushing madly, the tips of his ears beginning to glow red. "Quiet!" he hissed again. Susan wiped tears out of her eyes. She smiled radiantly and shook her head gently. Peter narrowed his eyes, then realised he was being stupid. Nevertheless, he felt the need to huff and throw a tantrum. Susan smiled one last time, then left to the balcony adjacent to the ballroom for a breath of fresh air.

The stars above Susan's head twinkled gently in the large mass of blue-black sky. The evening air was warm and inviting, a gentle breeze ruffling her hair as she left the crowded ballroom. She leaned against the balcony and set her wineglass down beside her. Her eyes swept over the view of Cair Paravel city stretched out in front of her. Torches were lit in the streets, and she could see people still walking about.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" A voice asked behind her. She suppressed a shiver as the warm Hispanic accent rolled over her. She turned her head slightly, delighted to see Caspian wading his way out of the shadows. "Yes. I cannot believe you had the city and Cair Paravel rebuilt in three months." She said, turning her head again to gaze out at the city. Caspian joined her at the rail. "Well, we did have the servants and commoners working around the clock. Everyone was keen to get a hand in at rebuilding the famous palace of old. Besides, it was the city the people were going to live in. They wanted to pitch in." He said.

Susan loved the way he spoke. He had such a way with words! At the same time, she was extremely aware of his close proximity, and the warmth of his body seemed to seep through the clothes he was wearing and into the night air. Caspian was as aware as she, though she didn't know that yet. "I think you did a fabulous job rebuilding the city," Susan said softly.

Caspian felt his throat dry and his body stiffen at her gentle words, then a surge of confidence spurred him into action. He had to tell her how he felt. "Susan," he said hesitantly, taking her hands in his. Susan was surprised by the sudden contact between their hands. Caspian's were unnaturally warm and soft, not sweaty in the least. "Susan, ever since you and your siblings have returned, I felt the need to address that..." he faltered.

He looked into her silver-specked eyes and felt her hands gently squeeze his, urging him to continue. "...That...thing between us on the afternoon when you left." He said, ending the sentence so softly that Susan would have missed it if they hadn't been alone. She saw the hurt and heartache hidden between his eyes at their separation. She saw how he needed steady ground to stand on; she saw how badly he needed to know how she felt. Rejection was his biggest fear, and she knew it.

In a spur of the moment; a flash of impulse, Susan brought her hands from his to rest on the back of his neck and brought them down, thusly pressing his lips to hers. Caspian relaxed immediately, the familiar feeling of her lips on his sending him into oblivion. His feelings broke free, the heartache, hurt and guilt disappearing immediately. He brought his arms to rest around her back. Her lips moved softly against his as she melted into his warm body, entrusting him with her entirely.

Susan felt elation, happiness beyond any measure the moment she had seen Caspian's love for her, hidden deep in between the larger feelings of heartache and hurt. After a thousand eternities they finally pulled away and rested their foreheads against each other's. Their breathing was calm, even though their hearts were racing. The corners of Caspian's mouth lifted slowly into a smile.

Susan mirrored it. She sighed and once again pressed her lips to Caspian's smiling ones. It was once again slow and soft, everything they needed to heal their hearts. They pulled away when air became necessary for them both. Susan smiled. "Would you care to accompany me for a ride through the forest tomorrow?" Caspian asked her, his dark eyes shining with love. "I would be honoured to, My King." Susan answered, gentleness and love radiating throughout her voice. Caspian's arms encircled her waist once more, and he held her as both their eyes turned to the stars. He was content to hold her like that, savouring their closeness.

* * *

The couple were unaware they were being watched by two pairs of eyes, one of them belonging to one very red Peter. He scowled and huffed, yet didn't intervene. Edmund materialised beside him. "Ugh, I can't believe them." Peter cried dramatically, throwing his hands into the air in frustration. Edmund smirked beside him.

"Oh, Peter, can't you just leave it alone. Come to think of it, it's better that way. They won't get up to anything while you're watching them." He said, still smirking. Peter glared at him. "I give it a month before he proposes to her." Edmund added slyly, eying peter. His brother exploded at that, growing even redder with a touch of green.

Edmund had never seen that shade of colour in Peter's skin repertoire. Peter threw his goblet at Ed, who dodged and ran away, laughing loudly. Peter huffed again and turned away to find his little brother. He was going to be the death of him. Susan and Caspian were already forgotten.

* * *

**Okay, before you kill me, hear me out. School is a creativity killer. At the moment, I have sports and hobbies four times a week. Morning AND afternoon. I currently have three assignments that I desperately need to finish before next week. Then there's regular homework on top of all that AND a massive maths exam that I have to study for. What's more, our family has kindly (Snort) agreed to treck up a mountain this weekend.**

**Sigh. Now i'm at the end of my rant, I really hope I didn'tt send any of you into a void of despair. Here's the update, I hope you guys like it. I really hope I got the Suspian (SPOILER!) moment at the end right... Reviews make me happy! You like? You no like? Let me know!**

**Enjoy! **

**~SunsetWanderer**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Morning came with blessed silence as the worries and doubts in Caspian and Susan's minds went to rest. For the first time since their leave, Susan allowed herself to relax completely, letting down the mental walls she had kept up for so long. Her mind was free from anything that would cause her grief.

England was forgotten; left far behind. Susan didn't even allow herself to think of that place anymore. Currently, she lay in bed, eyes tightly shut, replaying the scene between her and Caspian from the night before. The warm pressure of his soft lips still seemed pressed against hers and made them feel pleasantly tingly.

Her mind was a whirlwind of happy thoughts and feelings, as warm waves of happiness swept over her again and again. She slowly raised her left hand and pressed her fingertips against her still tingling lips. Her mind reeled again. Her arm flopped down of its own accord and she let out a happy sigh. She sat up and opened her eyes slowly. She let out another breathy sigh.

Ever since finding Narnia she felt complete, and meeting Caspian only added to the feeling. Caspian gave her even more reason to fall in love with Narnia. She went towards her wardrobe and put on a simple navy and cream pleated dress. She brushed her hair and then left her chambers for the dining room for some breakfast. What she didn't know, was for in order to go to the dining room, she would have to walk past Caspian's chambers first.

* * *

Caspian slept calmly, warmth all around him as he stirred under the sheets. His dreams had taken wing. He, too, was replaying the kiss between him and Susan in his head countless times. He loved the way her gentle hands pressed his head and lips to hers. The kisses between them had been gentle and soft, and every one made them feel as if it was their first. And every one made him want more.

Ever since the archery lesson on the fields of Aslan's How, he had his eyes opened by her gentle touch. All his life, he had been pushed and shoved ruthlessly to be corrected. Susan had touched with such a gentleness of the likes of which he had never experienced before. Finally, Caspian cracked open his eyelids slightly.

For a moment, the startling colour of sliver-specked blue flashed before his eyes. A grin broke out across his features. A dull ache, a desperate need rose within him. He needed to see Susan again. He got out of his bed and arranged the coves neatly. The light from the windows pooled into the room, lighting it up effectively. Caspian's chambers were very similar to Edmund and Peter's, except his sheets were a warm cream and deep purple, and his throw pillows were darker and lighter shades of purple. He went over to his ebony wardrobe and took out some clothes.

He took out a cream lace shirt together with a navy jacket atop a pair of beige pants with black boots. He instinctively reached for his sheathed sword, then realised that he didn't really need it anymore. There was no present danger now that the Narnian Revolution had ended. But Caspian felt practically naked not wearing it, so he clipped it to his belt anyway. He brushed a few strands of his hair out of his hair, cursing it for its forever messiness when it fell into his eyes again seconds later.

He swung open the door and froze. Susan, walking on the opposite side of the corridor froze as well. Her silver-specked eyes travelled up his body before they came to rest on his eyes. Caspian noticed the enticing sparkle that graced the deep-blue. Caspian softly closed the door behind him, and with three strides stood in front of her.

"Good morning, My queen." He whispered whilst taking her hand in his and laying his lips on the back. His eyes never left hers. A light blush appeared on Susan's cheeks, and she smiled. "Good morning," She replied. Caspian smiled as well. He suddenly found himself lost for words, as did she. Caspian leaned in slightly, and when Susan made no attempt to get away, he closed the distance between them and softly kissed her. Almost instantly a cough sounded from their left. The two sprang apart, blushing furiously.

Peter stood at the end of the corridor, with crossed arms and a tapping foot.

"Susan. Caspian." He said stoically, walking over to them. Caspian inclined his head. "King Peter." He greeted. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"What were you two doing?" he asked. Susan huffed and had to surpress a slight growl. Peter's stoic façade and voice were beginning to annoy her. Couldn't he just let it go?

"What did it look like, Peter?" she asked him coldly, her blue eyes darkening into a stormy grey. Peter suddenly squirmed uncomfortably. Lucy, thank Aslan, saved him.

"Peter!" she called. Peter turned around and fought against a sigh of relief threatening to escape his mouth.

"What is it, Lu?" Peter asked.

"Where did you leave my hairbrush?" Lucy scolded indignantly. Peter fought another sigh of relief as he saw a way out.

"Oh, sorry Lu. You know how I get dandruff, I'll get it for you." He said, somewhat hurriedly and stumbling over his words. He tossed one last withering look at Susan and Caspian, and he winced slightly at the look in his sister's eyes. Now it was Caspian's turn to raise an eyebrow and fight a smirk as he and Susan watched Peter and Lucy leave. When they were gone, and the corridor was once again empty, they turned towards each other again. "We should get some breakfast," Caspian mused, his accent putting a lovely play on the words. Susan let it all wash over her. She nodded, and the two went in the direction of the dining hall.

* * *

The family had a small uneventful breakfast. Peter tried not to look into the direction of Susan and Caspian, while the two were talking animatedly. It didn't go unnoticed that their clothes were matching. Susan caught his gaze several times, and all of those times Peter either winced or squirmed uncomfortably. Edmund got what was going on straight away, while it took Lucy a tad longer. But she understood nonetheless. After breakfast, Susan and Caspian went towards the stables to prepare for their ride through the forest. Peter, being the over-protective Alpha male he was, followed them.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, when he saw them disappear into the stables. The stables held all of the horses in the cavalry. They were made of warm pine wood, lit by numerous candles and torches. The floors were covered in stray that was changed every day by the stable boys. The stables held about 70 boxes that held either one or two horses. The stables lay west from the castle, close to the woods.

Susan straightened up. "I'm going out riding with Caspian." She answered. Peter's face gained a touch of green. "That might not be the best idea.." He murmured. Susan's eyes gained their coldness again.

"Why not?" She asked. Peter's face grew red, losing its touch of green.

"Be-cause..." He stammered. "You're alone with a...a boy in the woods. It doesn't feel right!" he cried. Susan narrowed her eyes.

"I'm seventeen, Peter! I'll go riding in the woods when and with who I want to." She bristled. Peter squirmed again. He never had the slightest idea that his sister could affect him like this. She turned on her heel and Peter watched helplessly as she raised herself into the saddle and took the reins from Caspian. Caspian then climbed onto Destrier, and the two horses and their riders galloped off.

Susan smiled, feeling the warm wind ruffle her hair as she and Caspian galloped through the woods. Her heart felt light and free. The Narnian air thrummed with magic as she galloped onwards. It whispered over her bare arms, washing every worry away. Happiness was a big bubble rising and gaining even more joy as it rose in her chest. It finally escaped in the form of a merry laugh.

Caspian galloped in close step behind Susan, elated at how happy she was. He left even better when he came to the conclusion that in essence, he was the cause of her happiness. His mind was swimming. In the golden sunlight that streamed between the sun-dappled leaves, Susan truly looked like a vision. The dark navy and cream of her dress stood in light contrast to the colour of her ivory skin, freckled with tiny, light-mocha moles. Her dark-chestnut hair flew behind her, and her dark-blue eyes with their silver specks sparkled and shone with radiance.

Their horses continued to gallop through the woods until they broke out onto a large, grassy and green field. Aslan's How towered above the feeling like a giant ruin. The big hole that had been created during the final battle in the Narnian Revolution had been filled up, and the grass had grown over. Aslan's how hadn't been restored, yet it hadn't broken down more since the battle. Susan gazed with wonder, but her expression soon changed when horrible memories filled her ind. Caspian saw her sudden distress and quickly moved to stand beside her.

He put a warm hand on her arm. Susan looked at his impossibly handsome face. His brows were knitted together in a questioning frown, and his brown eyes sparkled with warm worry and compassion. "What's wrong?" he asked, his accent threading the words together in a wonderful way. Susan gave a sad smile.

"Memories." She whispered. Caspian nodded, then gave a small smile when she leaned into his side. "Come on," he said, and he took Destrier's reins. Susan seemed to let go of her memories, and she brightened up. Caspian steered her towards the tiers of the How.

They let their horses graze freely on the field, whilst they climbed up the ruins to reach the thrid tier. In a sudden movement, a large lump of marble dropped from above their heads and fell. Caspian's quickly curled protectively around Susan, and due to his quick thinking no one got hurt. The lump landed precariously close to the grazing horses. Susan's horse, Iria, got spooked by the lump of marble hitting the ground and gave a loud shriek. Susan and Caspian's heads whipped around to see Iria's ebony backside disappearing into the forest.

"She'll go back to the stables. They all do." Caspian said, voicing Susan thoughts aloud. She smiled. "I guess we'll have to ride Destrier back to the castle." She said, a note of mischief gracing her voice and eyes. Caspian continued to climb up behind her, and they sat down on the third tier. They let their feet dangle over the edge, while Caspian took some food items out of a small basket he had brought with them.

They talked quietly, about matters not really important. They were happy to be in each other's presence, and to Caspian, there was nothing more beautiful than the sound of Susan's voice. When the food had been eaten, they climbed back to the ground. Caspian attached the empty basket to Destrier's saddle, and returned with his Telmarine crossbow.

"Care for some practice?" he asked. Susan grinned.

"Pick a target," she said, mirroring Caspian's words from their archery practice during the Revolution. Caspian smiled and looked around.

"Do you see that chestnut?" he asked, pointing to a tree. Susan looked into the general direction, yet she couldn't spot it. Caspian gently took her chin in his right hand and tilted it so she could see the chestnut. It was large, about the size of two of Caspian's hands clamped together in fists. Susan blushed when she thought about the comparison, by Aslan, he was taking over her thoughts..!

"There," his warm, alluring breath spilled over her shoulder, and she fought a shiver. She nodded, desperately trying to regain her composure and not pull him in by the shirt to kiss her. She took the crossbow from him, and loaded a bolt into the slot. She raised it, took aim, and fired. The bolt whistled through the air and hit the chestnut square in the middle. It flew from the tree and hit something with a dull thump. A loud shriek came from the trees and seconds later, Edmund, with a face as pale as a sheet, stumbled out from the tree line clutching a chestnut with a crossbow bolt sticking out through the middle. Next to Susan, Caspian fought a snicker.

"Were you spying on us?!" Susan demanded. Edmund, like Peter, cringed at the stormy look in his sister's eyes.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, cringing further when Susan's eyes narrowed. "No...Peter sent me..." He explained. Susan groaned. "What did he bribe you with this time?" she asked. Caspian raised an eyebrow. It sounded like such a situation had happened before. Edmund looked down and shifted from foot to foot. "A new chess set..." He mumbled, looking embarrassedly down at the ground.

Susan gave a small smile. "Well, what will you tell Peter?" she asked, a hint of threat buried in her tone. Edmund smirked. "That you two were practising archery." He answered. Susan smiled. "Good boy," she smirked. Edmund raised his head and met her eyes, mirroring his sister's smirk. For a moment, Caspian was under the complete belief that the two had to have some sort of psychic semblance, because the likenesses of their smirks were almost identical.

Edmund left, and Caspian and Susan were once again left alone. "So, what do you think we should do now?" Caspian asked slyly. Susan turned to face him, and looked at him with an expression that was unreadable. Then, she leaned forward and gently kissed him. Caspian, with his temper fuelled and his want increased, slowly nipped at her upper lip with his teeth. He gained entrance as Susan obliged, opening her mouth. He slipped his tongue in between her lips and wound his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. Susan, having only one shred of logical thought left in her, sensed where this was going and she slowly retracted herself from Caspian, only drawing back enough to look into his half-opened chocolate eyes.

"We should get back to the castle. I have to give Peter his lecture..." She whispered, surprised at the husky tone of her voice. Caspian lifted his head to the sky and laughed. He looked back her and tenderly kissed her forehead.

"Let's go," He said, walking her to Destrier and mounting his trusted horse. Susan sat behind him, and they left the How he felt her press her cheek to his back. Susan closed her eyes and allowed the wonderful feeling to overtake her. She never, ever wanted this to end.

* * *

**Hurray! Another chapter up! I'm proud of this, because after I left you guys for a week with all my tests and assignments and whatnot, I feel kinda happy to put this up. I'm sure you've all experienced this wonderful creativity-killing thing we call school, and this week was no different to all of the other hellish ones I've had. I had a massive 40% math test today, and I pretty sure I didn't fail it... Let's hope for the best... **

**SO, let's get to it!**

**PLUS: I just saw that By my law, by my hand, by my word has over 2,000 VIEWS! WHOA! Thank you to all of my amazing reviewers AND readers, because your support is probably the best feeling a writer can have. You guys are awesome! **

**Okay, important AN. I KNOW the ending was cheesy, but I'm proud of it :D **

**I'm going to introduce my OC in the next few chapters or so, probably two after next. Next chapter will be a small filler for chapter 10 which will be *SPOILER* the proposal. *SPOILER* I hope you're all as excited as I am, because I truly CANNOT wait! The story is getting well under way, and it'll be soon when things REALLY start to heat up. I hope you're ready for it. **

**For now, type a nice review (They're appreciated!), eat your veggies and be nice to your parents, I'll see you all next time. **

**~SunsetWanderer**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

And so it would go. For the next three weeks, Caspian would take Susan out every day, showing her bits and pieces of Narnia that had been destroyed in the war, and then restored in the Pevensies' time of absence. They would often go for half-day trips, as Caspian and Susan still had duties as King and Queens of Narnia. Their relationship flourished and grew and they gradually became more intimate with one another. They came precariously close to losing control multiple times, but it was Caspian's honour that had saved them both.

Now, they were riding through the plains, travelling to the old city, Sunã, near the castle Miraz had lived in. Some Narnians and Telmarines still lived there. Caspian had turned it into a livelier city, full of colour and activity. It was a lovely afternoon. There was slight overcast, giving refreshing cool in between the shining of the warm sun. Susan rode on Iria, who, as Caspian had promised, had returned to the stables after her massive fright on the afternoon the two were at the How.

Caspian, as always, rode on his trusted friend Destrier. The sun's rays beat down on them. Caspian was absolutely in his element, riding onwards telling stories of what the drought would do to the Telmarines. In the apex of summer, an apex that was fast approaching, Caspian was the one that truly thrived. Susan and Edmund, who both had dark hair but fair skin, didn't fare as well as Caspian, but they weren't as bad as Lucy and Peter. They both had light hair, together with a light complexion made them completely susceptible to the sun.

Susan dug her heels into Iria's sides as the city gates appeared. The guards on either side acknowledged the royals with a bow. "Your majesties," they greeted with a nod. Susan and Caspian smiled politely at them. Two bells rang to alert the city of their presence. Their horses' hooves clicked on the sandstone pavement.

The doors of the stone houses on either sides of the street were open, sounds of laughter and conversation flowed into the air from within them. Flowers were on display in big vases dotted along the street. All of the bright colours created an aura of carelessness and freedom. People milled around them, occasionally greeting them when they were recognised with bows, handshakes and smiles.

Caspian and Susan reached the end of the street and walked into a large square, where many colourful market stalls were set up. Even more people walked around the square, bargaining for food, fabrics, antiques and more things Susan couldn't name. They got off of their horses and left them with another guard. They walked through the square, Susan by Caspian's side.

Susan let her eyes wander freely, wanting to see everything at once. A lively smile was plastered onto her face. Caspian tended to do that to her. Lively music, played by some faun street artists echoed throughout the square and mingled with children's laughter. A child ran up to Caspian and stopped in front of him. A girl, about seven years old. Her hazel eyes shone with adoration.

Caspian squatted down, and she gently touched his cheek. "You're brave like my Papa." She said, smiling widely. Caspian grinned and stood up. He slyly plucked a white rose from a flower stall, and stooped back down. "And you're beautiful like the woman I love." He said, handing her the rose and tucking a small lock of the girl's raven hair behind one of her ears. The little girl giggled and ran off, the white rose tucked securely in her hands.

Caspian rose and smiled charmingly at Susan. Susan mirrored his smile, and surprised him by taking his chin in her hands and pulling his mouth to hers; planting a short and sweet kiss on his lips. The people around them saw the act and began whispering. They were all happy. If their eyes were not deceiving them, then there was something between King Caspian The Restorer and Queen Susan The gentle of old. The people were excited to see what would happen next.

Caspian pulled away with a giddy smile. Susan smiled contentedly and leaned against his side, whilst her hand found his and entwined with it. She had seen how Caspian had interacted with the little girl. She couldn't help but think about how good of a father he would be. Her cheeks reddened even more when she replayed one of their little moments of passion invaded her head. If Caspian's honour hadn't saved them, one of those little girls might just as well been growing in her stomach.

They continued walking through the square, enjoying themselves immensely. They walked with the flow of the people, allowing themselves to take on a pattern of movement rather than create one of their own. Before they knew it, they found themselves alone in a stone courtyard. A semi-circular dais in one corner of the courtyard gave an elevated view of Miraz' Telmarine castle and the cliffs surrounding it. On the dais stood a lone tree, with two trunks entwined as one. Susan and Caspian's merry moods died immediately, terrifying memories filling their places. Their playful banter died as their faces fell.

They watched the tree, as their minds and souls were vaulted from their bodies and taken back in time. Four months to be exact. They saw Aslan and themselves, as their painful goodbye was replayed before their eyes. Tears welled up in Susan's eyes. She didn't want to be here. Suddenly, she felt the warm pressure of Caspian's lips on her own, catapulting her out of her memory. Caspian held her close to his chest, as tears rolled down Susan's cheeks of their own accord. He pulled away and looked at her. He brushed away the tears and the marks they had created.

Susan buried her head in the hollow of Caspian's neck, enjoying the masculinity and safety he seemed to give her. "I don't want this place to become a bad memory." Caspian whispered, after brushing some of her hair away from her ears. Susan let out a shaky sigh. "It's in the past." She whispered. Caspian nodded and gave a loving smile. "It will soon be forgotten." He said cryptically.

Susan drew her brows together in a questioning frown. "What do you mean?" she asked. Caspian smiled with an expression that was hard to read. He then dropped down to one knee and took Susan's hand in both of his. Susan's breath caught in her throat and she almost forgot to breathe. Her heart fluttered as his smouldering eyes turned up to gaze into hers. "Susan, over the past few weeks I have gotten to know you more than were possible during the Revolution, and I greatly enjoyed our mornings and afternoons together. And I daresay, and hope with all my heart, that you feel the same." He said. He stopped and looked pained.

Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and continued. "Our separation nearly killed me, as I know it almost killed you. I realise now that letting you go was the biggest mistake I possibly could have made. I vow here and now to never let you go again. To be honest, I spent many days worrying over this moment, as I had worried you would reject my advances after your return. There will not be a day where I do not thank Aslan for returning you to the rightful place by my side, and there will not be one day where I will grow tired of having you with me. You manage to give my life meaning, and I want to give meaning to yours. Hence, by my hand, I ask you, will you do me the absolute honour of becoming my wife, therefore accepting me as your husband?" he asked, ending his formidable speech on a soft note.

Susan was frozen in place as she watched Caspian take a navy-velvet bow out of his breeches and open it. He presented the ring inside, and this time Susan stopped breathing for real. A beautiful, delicate band of golden twisted ivy leaves, a replica to her crown, twined around a smaller silver band. In a small cradle atop the ring sat a small, crystalline diamond. He slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her right hand.

Only then did Susan see the matching ring on the fourth finger of Caspian's right hand. Any form of coherent thought ceased to exist in Susan's head. A small flicker of doubt lighted up Caspian's eyes. "Yes." Susan breathed. In a moment of absolute happiness, Caspian jolted upright and he laughed loudly. He grabbed Susan by the waist and twirled her round and round in circles.

Cries of mirth and merriment escaped from their mouths. Caspian set her back down and seconds later set his mouth onto Susan's. He kept it there until air became necessary. He pulled away, and at that moment the flames of joy in Susan's silver-blue orbs were the most beautiful thing in the world.

He once again crashed his mouth to hers. Needy; wanting. Desire surged through their bodies. Caspian cupped Susan's cheeks in his large hands, his teeth nipping at her lower lip. Susan granted him entrance and he slipped his tongue into the cavern of her mouth. Susan kissed him back, eager passion spilling into her every move. Her hands moved from Caspian's chest to tangle themselves in his hair.

Caspian moved from her mouth and began to plant butterfly kisses along her jaw line, moving further down. His lips traced the skin and brushed over the sable smooth skin of her collarbone. Susan's breath was irregular, out of rhythm and uneven. "Caspian," She said breathlessly. "We have to stop." She told him firmly. Caspian pulled away. His eyes were unfocused and hazy. "We do." He said, as he brushed off his jacket and shook out his hair, making some attempt at taming it. He stepped away from her with a smirk. "We will continue this later, do not worry about that." He said. Susan blushed deeply. Caspian took her hand and pulled her out of the courtyard. It wasn't a bad place anymore.

* * *

The whole family was ecstatic when Susan and Caspian showed them their rings and announced their engagement. Lucy was bouncing up and down, simply jumping with effervescent joy. Edmund was trying to hide a smirk. His bet with Peter had been won, and he was planning to rub it into Peter's face as much as he possibly could. He, of course, was also very happy about his sister's engagement. Caspian was practically a brother to him and he couldn't think of a better match for his sister than Caspian.

And peter? Well...he was being Peter. He smiled uncomfortably, battling a grim expression from etching itself on his face. His smile seemed forced, and this did not evade Susan's watchful eye. After exchanging his congratulations to the pair, he stormed off to the library. The huge room was made up mostly of huge floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves, full of books of different kinds, shapes and sizes.

A friendly old faun, named Levar worked there as a librarian and historian. Professor Cornelius was mostly found there, immersing himself in the great expanse of information. Comfortable chairs and couches were placed through the library. There was also a nice, large sitting corner, where one could have a drink together with a book. This was where Susan found Peter.

"How are you feeling?" she gently asked him, sitting down on the couch he was sitting on, next to him. "I'm dealing." He answered, sighing. Susan smiled and ruffled Peter's hair. At moments like this, it seemed she was older than him, not the other way around. "I don't want to lose you yet, Su. For as long as I've known you've been my little sister. Mine to protect, mine to teach, mine to love. I'm not ready to pass on that responsibility to another yet." He explained. Susan smiled. "You're going to have to let go anyways," she said, smiling.

Peter grinned. "That doesn't mean I don't like it." he said. Susan laughed. "You accept Caspian, right?" she asked. Peter turned to her and took her hands. "If I have ever met a man, Caspian is the best match for you. I know that those mere four hours on the train nearly destroyed your life-force, and I certainly wasn't going to let that happen again. Caspian deserves you, as you deserve him." he said, eyes full of compassion. Susan smiled brightly and hugged her brother. Peter closed his eyes and savoured the moment. "But just remember, I'll be watching." He added cheekily. Susan laughed.

A loud bang gained their attention, and they looked over towards to the entrance to the library; two giant double doors. Lucy, followed by Edmund and Caspian walked towards them. Caspian sat down next to Susan and clasped her hand in his. Peter watched it happen, but made no move to reprimand either of them. Lucy plopped down next to Peter, and Edmund sat in the couch opposite them.

"So, I've been thinking, and I decided we need to host a ball to announce your engagement." She said. Caspian and Susan looked to each other. "We really don't need one, do we?" she said. Lucy nodded firmly. "Absolutely!" she cried, "How will all of Narnia know?" she asked. Susan had to admit, Lucy had a point. "But can't we make it a small party?" she pleaded.

Again Lucy shook her head fervently. "You've already made to big of an issue. Most of the guards and servants know, Su. You can't pass it off as a small party anymore." She said. Peter was really surprised by the knowledge and knowing in Lucy's voice. But the thought of little Lucy growing up was too much to bear.

Susan gave in. "Fine, we'll host a party. But neither of us are planning it. There is enough stress and excitement as it is." She said firmly. The others nodded. For a second, Peter was scared by the dangerous gleam in Lucy's eyes. "Fantastic." She said.

* * *

**So I know I kept you waiting for a long time, but school is hectic and bladi-bladi blah blah. You know the drill. I have made up for it by combining the filler and the *SPOILER*Proposal*SPOILER* into ONE CHAPTER! Luckily, I have no more assesments (Yay!) so I have more time for writing. Rest assured it shall be utilized to the full. I have enjoyed writing this chapter, and thus I hope you enjoy reading it! **

**Thank you for sticking by me and having the time to read my story. It moves me to know my writing is actually read by the general public :D**

**U like? U no like? Voice your thoughts, my friends! They are greatly appreciated. **

**Next chapter should be up in a week, and in this I will introduce my character!**

**EXCITEMENT!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Come on, Ed!" yelled an exuberant Lucy. Edmund grinned and chased his sister. Lucy squealed and ran away, kicking off her shoes in the process. Edmund reared Philip, his horse, and began to chase her. Peter, Susan and Caspian watched with amusement as they walked after them. Susan's hand was securely held by Caspian's, whilst Peter walked on ahead, casting looks behind him every so often. They could hear Lucy's giggling reverberate throughout the forest, carried on the warm summer wind.

The royals had decided to go out for a walk, intending not to stray too far from Cair Paravel. The walk was enjoyable for them all; a welcome relief from the burdens of royalty. Edmund chased Lucy on horseback, enjoying the thrill of the chase, even though it wasn't real. Her giggling was carried on the wind, and as he chased down the sound, he became more and more aware of being lost.

He'd lost her. He groaned and thumped his head with his hands. Then, he saw her, in a clearing right in front of him. She was looking at him and smiling widely. Suddenly, her smile was traded for an expression of pure fear and panic. "Edmund!" Lucy cried shrilly, pointing her finger to something behind him. Edmund turned, and his eyes widened. A figure, hidden by a black cloak was racing towards him on an even blacker horse at breakneck speed. A sword sat in the figure's right hand.

Edmund reacted instantaneously. He ducked the savage sword swipe and kicked out with his right boot, landing it in the horse's flank. The figure jumped expertly off of the horse as its steps faltered, coming dangerously close to falling. The horse regained its balance and galloped on. Lucy screamed as the fast horse sped past her, missing her by mere centimetres. The figure landed on the ground with a soft thump, and its cloak rustled.

The figure's face was completely obscured by the cloak. It struck first, jabbing towards Edmund's unguarded stomach. Edmund parried the blow and returned by slashing a diagonal line. The figure parried the blow, and so they continued, jabbing, slashing, cutting, and then parrying the blow that was coming.

Finally, in a moment of opportunity, Edmund charged forward, making a rapid series of hits against his opponent's sword. His opponent responded by swiping a low blow, which Edmund jumped over. A flurry of dust sprung up around their feet, giving rise to a massive dust cloud.

The sounds of Lucy's screams and the clash of swords attracted the attention of Caspian, Peter and Susan. They ran towards the brawl. They were, however, already too late.

The dust cloud had settled. Edmund had his sword under his opponent's chin. He was about to move it further forward, when he found himself paralysed in place by his opponent's sword in the exact same position. Edmund's chocolate brown eyes gleamed dangerously. "Yield." He hissed. The cloaked figure laughed coldly. "Not while you're pointing a sword at my head." It said. Edmund's eyes widened at the sound of the figure's voice.

The voice was way too high to come by as a man's voice. Though, it was fairly deep, too. It was tipped with a slight Hispanic accent, like Caspian's. Though this accent wasn't as strong. Edmund would call this accent Italian if they were still living in England, like Caspian's sounded Hispanic. Edmund slowly raised the tip of his sword and flicked aside the cloak. It fell to the ground.

"Edmund!" Susan's shrill cry sounded next to him. He turned his head, and gasped when he still felt the sharp tip of the sword still prodding his neck. Caspian and Peter's eyes went just as wide as Edmund's. "Yield." Edmund hissed again, after turning his head as carefully as the sword in his throat would allow him to look at the figure, now exposed to the scrutiny of the king.

A girl, the cause of everyone's surprise, from under her cloak glared at him, staying silent. She suddenly sighed in resolve and took her sword away from its place under Edmund's chin, and sheathed it. "I'm already at the mercy of the Kings and Queens of old." She muttered. Susan stepped forward. "Who are you?" she asked softly, frowning. The girl sighed again, her eyes flitting to the ground. "I am Princess Sophia, of Calormen." She answered.

The moment those words left her mouth, Edmund's muscles went lax, and he dropped his sword from her chin, sheathing it. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. But, as much as he wanted to believe this girl was lying, she wasn't. A number of things gave her away. Her posture was regal, yet carried in a manner of humbleness which Edmund could detect in his own stance.

And her clothes, though they were men's clothes, were made in such a manner that they could not have belonged to a peasant. "What are you doing here?" Caspian asked, stepping forward and drawing Susan closer to him in a protective manner. "Running, I guess." She answered, smiling sadly.

Her eyes locked onto the engagement ring Susan had on her hand, and she made a mental note to ask the queen about it later. Lucy came out from behind Peter. "Why?" she asked, her voice whisper soft. Sophia squatted down and was about to answer, when Peter put a hand in front of Lucy. "Tell us on the way to the castle." He said. Sophia raised her eyes to look at Peter and nodded, straightening up.

The royal party started off, and Sophia began her story. "My father has always wanted my throne. He never wanted me as his heir, because I'm a girl. Everyone in Calormen is under the positive belief that women cannot hold positions of power. Women are only good for pleasure and labour. Women are the makers of the beds; the tenders to the young." She explained. Whilst she spoke, Edmund took the time to asses her carefully. He wanted to know if she was a possible threat to his family.

But, if he had asked for Susan's opinion on his behaviour, she would have told him he was just looking for a legitimate excuse to look her up and down. She was very pretty, Edmund granted her that. She stood at a shorter height to him, with the top of her head reaching his ears. Her skin was of a moderate tan. The skin was lithe and supple, with strong muscles concealed underneath. She had long, waist length hair, darker blonde of colour.

Her eyes were the strangest aspect about her. When Edmund had been fighting with her before, his chocolate orbs had briefly locked onto hers, and he had seen the strangest thing. The outer rim, furthest away from the pupil was a dark blue. Inside that rim was a ring of teal, with a smaller ring of green closer to the pupil. The area around her pupil was yellow, dotted with small specks of brown. They were the strangest (and prettiest) eyes Edmund had ever seen.

She was wearing brown pants that moved with her body, and Edmund could see it was made of a very comfortable fabric. On her feet, she wore black leather boots that were laced up to her calves. Her torso was clad in a cream shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and over that a brown leather jerkin. Her sword was sheathed by her side. Her horse was long gone, and looked like it wouldn't return any time soon.

Edmund was filled with unspeakable rage at the Princess' words. He knew Calormen treated their women like filth, and he had hoped that they had at least changed a little bit from the times before, but apparently not. His mind flew back to Prince Rabadash, who had tried to force Susan into marriage, and this rage filled him even more. Calormen hadn't changed a bit. A quick look behind him told him that Susan must have been thinking the same. Caspian noticed this too, and gently squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present.

Peter spoke up. "What about your family, what of them?" He asked. Edmund smiled slightly; glad his older brother had taken the words right out of his mouth. Sophia dropped her head and looked at the ground as she walked onwards. "My younger brother was born lame. He has a disability in his arms, and so my father deemed him unfit to rule. He had it arranged for him to be executed, but I fought heavily against that order. Finally, Father relented and let him live, but not in the palace. He was given to some peasants who were unable to have children. He lives in the city now, knowing nothing of the royal status that he was born with." Sophia explained. By the end of her little story, tears glinted in the corners of her eyes, and she was fighting hard to keep them down. Disability or no, she still loved him. The group was silent, hanging on to every word.

Edmund fought the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him, so that he could reassure her. The urge came from absolutely nowhere, and it confused him greatly. "Now, my father has a healthy, living son, and that means that I'm to be executed, too. I'm a woman, of no use whatsoever to my father, except to marry off to some lord or prince. But my father has no love for me, so he'll dispose of me in any way possible. My mother has no more say in what he does. She died giving birth to Garvin." Sophia continued.

There was a moment of silence, no sound unless the chirping of birds overhead and the scuffling of feet on the forest floor. Garvin must have been her younger brother, Caspian mused. It was then that he spoke. "Couldn't your father just have reinstated one of his generals if he wanted a healthy prince so bad?" he asked. Sophia shook her head and looked at him. "No. My cousins, Daniil and Aspar are his highest generals; the commanders of the 5 left and 5 right regiments of the Calormen army. Had he reinstated one of them, he wouldn't have anybody with near as much skill as either of them to employ as the new general. My other cousin Samuel is a stableboy. Father does not even think of him as a nephew. Besides, Father wants a prince of his own bloodline." She said, spitting bitterly when she thought of her two cousins.

They were both insufferable, cocky, and unbelievably annoying. "So who is the mother?" Susan whispered, her eyes wide with apprehension. Sophia looked at Susan, and was moved by the amount of compassion she saw concealed in the silver-blue orbs. Sophia quickly looked away and steeled her gaze.

"My aunt." She spat, disgusted that she would do such a thing. "And now, because of her disgusting affair with my father, I'm on the run. All. Because. Of. Her." Sophia growled, her vision clouding red at the edges. It didn't take a miracle man to work out she was beyond angry. She was livid.

Caspian met Susan's eyes. Susan saw the pain in them, and in an attempt to soothe him, she craned up and set a sweet kiss on his lips. But even that didn't wipe the frown that was hard-set onto Caspian's brow. The Princess' story was starting to look more and more like his own. Visions from the night he was supposed to be killed flashed in front of his eyes and he held tightly onto Susan like she was his rock. They kept coming, each one more terrible than the last, until Susan kissed him again, teleporting him out of his painful memories and back into the present. In moments like this, Caspian felt blessed beyond measure that she had agreed to become his wife. She truly was like no other.

Edmund hesitantly held his hand out, and after some internal deliberation whether to put it on Sophia's shoulder or not, he dropped it and put it on her shoulder. Sophia whirled around, her eyes glowing in the evening sunlight. She glared at him, but didn't once move to remove Edmund's hand from her shoulder. Edmund met her eyes and didn't blink. He didn't look away, either. Finally, Sophia dropped her eyes and turned away from him, continuing to walk forward.

She had relaxed visibly. Edmund took his hand from her shoulder and looked at her, before turning his eyes away. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Edmund asked. Sophia bit her lip, but didn't face Edmund. "My father had me trained in the case I would become Queen. Calormen princes take the throne over from their parents when they reach the age of seventeen. For me, that's next year. My father wanted to know that **were **I to take the throne that I would be able to rule the kingdom well. That didn't mean he liked the idea of me becoming Queen." Sophia explained. By now, they had almost reached the castle, and Cair Paravel's spires could be seen from below, looming over the landscape.

As they walked into the adjoining courtyard, the castle now fully visible, Peter stopped, took Sophia's hands in his and gave a gracious bow, earning giggles from Lucy and a smirk from Edmund. "Then allow us. You will never have to be on the run again. I, High King Peter, hereby invite you to live with us at Cair Paravel, should you want to." He said, rising from his bow and smiling. Sophia took a step back, looking around.

Susan was smiling at her as well. Caspian gave a silent nod, indicating that he, too, agreed with Peter's decision. Lucy beamed and rushed forward, hugging Sophia tightly around the waist. But Edmund, Edmund was glaring at Peter, his face frozen in shock. Sophia turned towards him and placed her hands on her hips. She looked at him, before clearing her throat. Edmund's face whipped around to look at her.

He closed his open mouth, and then opened it to say something. Deciding against that, he closed his mouth again. Sophia raised an eyebrow and turned back to Peter. She fought against the smirk that was threatening to break across her face.

"I would love that. Thank you." Sophia answered, her voice laced with sincerity. And she really did mean that. Peter gave another nod and with a sweeping motion brought his hand around to indicate the massive castle. "Welcome to Cair Paravel, Sophia." He said, smiling earnestly. Sophia returned his easy smile and looked around her. Caspian had taken up his spot beside Susan, and he whispered something in her ear.

Susan smiled at him and nodded, walking towards the castle. Lucy ran up beside Sophia and took her hand. "I'll show you your room! Come on!" She said, earning an excited laugh from Sophia. Lucy pulled her along and into the castle, effectively leaving Peter, Caspian and Edmund alone in the courtyard.

Caspian walked up beside Peter, who was intently looking at Edmund. "Leave him; he'll come around sooner or later. Come to think of it, he'll miss dinner." Caspian said, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Peter snorted and turned his back to Edmund. He and Caspian walked to the entrance of the castle, before Peter turned around once more to look for Edmund. The Just King was still frozen in place, his face still frozen in that same expression. Laughing softly, Peter turned away and followed Caspian to the dining room.

After Peter had turned away, Edmund suddenly snapped into action from his position. He closed his mouth and walked to the entrance to the castle, nodding politely to the guards that stood on either side of the double doors that lead into the throne room. To them, it seemed as if the king had been taken by a trance; so placid were his movements. But Edmund was thinking. His mind was completely focused on one thing.

The princess. She had taken over his thoughts; left his throat thirsty and his stomach hungry. And Edmund knew that all of this would go away when he saw her again. Against his body's protests, he walked past the dining room and up to his own chambers, where he fell into a dreamless sleep. And it was all instigated by that one look in her eyes.

* * *

King Ardu, of Calormen sat upon his throne of smithed silver. The kind was a large, muscular man with straight, cropped black hair and a black beard. Brown eyes normally scoped out the room for danger, but now, at this time he wouldn't have to. Now was a moment of peace. The dark pine wood added a dark contrast to the light silver, and gave even more darkness to the already throne room.

He was cradling his new-born son in bare arms. The doors to the throne room opened, admitting the King's nephew, Daniil, inside. The nineteen year-old walked to the foot of the dais, and sank to his knees and bowing his head in a bow. "Uncle," he acknowledged, rising to his feet and stepping to the top of the dais. He walked around the back of his uncle's throne, stopping to look over the king's shoulder. "What's his name?" Daniil asked. Ardu smiled. "Savir." He answered, "Named because he will save Calormen. It almost fell into the hands of my daughter, you know." He said.

Daniil scoffed. _She wouldn't have lasted a day,_ he thought. Savir meant Saviour, just said in a Calormene accent. "Speaking of, where is the princess?" Daniil asked. Ardu frowned, his bushy eyebrows drawing together. "I do not know. I have not seen her since the night of Savir's birth." He said. Daniil nodded and stepped down from the dais. "Find her. Bring her to me." Ardu ordered. Daniil nodded and bowed. "Yes, my king." He said, putting a ready hand on the hilt of his sword and leaving the room.

An hour later, Daniil returned to the throne room. "We could not find her, M'Lord. We have searched the entire castle, but we have not seen her. We have even asked the servants but they, too, have not seen her. Come to think of it, she has been gone since little Savir was born." Daniil explained. Ardu shot up and banged his fist on the armrest of his throne.

Savir no longer lay in his arms. _One of the nannies must have taken him,_ Daniil thought. Ardu swore loudly. His brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "What about her other cousin, that stableboy?" he asked. Daniil shook his head. "Samuel said he had not seen her, Lord." He explained. Ardu swore again. "Get your brother, Aspar and that stableboy. We will find Sophia." He commanded. Daniil bowed and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Daniil?" Ardu said. Daniil turned around and looked at his king. "Get Ezera ready, too." He said. Daniil's usually confident face became less so. "Ezera, Sir?" he inquired. Ardu nodded. "The spy will be needed." The kind said curtly.

Daniil still looked uncertain, but he still turned around and walked away. He went towards the barracks nonetheless, knowing he would meet his brother and the assassin there.

* * *

**So here it is. Another chapter. I'm really, really sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy with other things lately, and I haven't found the motivation to continue writing for the story. I won't be putting it on hiatus, so don't worry about that. **

**I'll try to update every week or two. That's my New Years resloution. Speaking of it, how were your New Years? Enjoyable, I hope. **

**Ooooh, seems like something is brewing in Calormen... Hmm. What do you think of these changes of events? And what of my OC?**

**Please review, I love reviews ^^ **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Susan?" Called a timid voice from behind a mahogany wooden door. Susan, who was walking past the door at that moment, gave a small gasp in surprise and stopped in her tracks. Edmund, who had been walking with her, also stopped and muttered something indiscernible. Susan strode over to the door, and peeked around it.

Edmund, unable to keep himself from doing so, walked closer to the door, until Susan shooed him away forcefully. Edmund reminisced over the voice. It still caught him in a trap every time he heard it. The old fire was rekindled in his stomach, and he began to burn from the inside out. It had been three days since Sophia had moved into the castle with the kings and queens, and a full three days to Edmund's opinion.

She had not fully settled into the castle just yet, but the brothers and sister had made a silent vow to help her on her way. Her voice, otherwise rich with unspoken authority and confidence, was now small with insecurity, and Edmund couldn't believe his ears for the apparent trickery they had vested upon him. He waited off patiently to the side of the corridor until Susan came out.

It took five minutes of dawdling until the door opened up again, and Susan and Sophia came out. Sophia, apparently, needed her dress to be fixed up, because she was incompetent to do it herself. She had lived in men's clothing, after all. She wasn't used to this new predicament in which she found herself. She was wearing a light green and cream dress that stretched to her knees.

The bodice was sparkled with emerald rhinestones and embroidery, and the skirt flared out from the bodice. Edmund's throat dried at the sight of her tanned and healthy calves. She wasn't wearing any shoes, either. He wasn't particularly sure whether this style of dress was allowed in the castle. He had never seen such a sight as this before. Susan frowned when Sophia stood in front of her. "Hmm, perhaps Lucy's dresses were too short. We'll need to tailor some for you, I think." She said. Sophia's eyes widened. "No, no, no! This size is fine. Gives me room to move." She said quickly, shaking her head.

It became rather clear that she preferred these typed of dresses. "Besides," she explained quickly, "I'll only wear dresses like these for formal functions. I wear breeches and shirts more often than I do dresses." She said. Susan frowned a little, before relenting and closing Sophia's quest room door behind her. Something which wasn't missed by both Edmund and Susan was that Sophia's sword sat securely in the sheath belted by her hip.

The three royals made their way over to the courtyard, because the weather was warm and sunny, and they all felt like some time outside. Edmund, rather obviously, moved while they walked to walk beside Sophia, conversing with her every so often. Susan dropped behind them, passing a secret smirks with one of the palace guard when they passed his post. The guard returned it, and Susan's spirits lifted.

They lifted impossibly more when she spotted Caspian resting his back against a tree in the glade ahead of her. The glades lay outside of the castle walls, beyond the gardens and beyond the sight of the guards. It was a certain risk to enter them, because the guards come not come to your aid, and something could ambush you at any moment, but every now and then the knights would go hunting in the glades, effectively flushing out all of the evil things that still resided there.

It was a beautiful place, with pools of clear water and trees that stretched in completely different positions, with the trunks sometimes growing horizontally, or in a spiral. It was peaceful and quiet, with only the gentle chirps of the birds and the quiet rustle of leaves, and the rush of a nearby waterfall.

Peter had his back resting against a rock that jutted out from the ground, whilst Lucy stood on top of the slab behind an easel, painting a clear pool of water in front of her. Little flowers sprung out in between the rocks and the moss, and it would look magical once finished. Susan joined Caspian's side, leaning lovingly against him.

He was hearing a simple lace shirt, with the top undone, and a pair of brown breeches. Peter wore something similar, except his breeches were of such a dark blue that it almost seemed black. Their feet were bare, and both had books resting in the palms of their hands. Edmund took place beside Peter, and Sophia stood at the entrance to the glade, unsure of where to sit and what to do.

She didn't want to sit with Susan and Caspian. They pair needed their privacy, and invading on it seemed wrong. She didn't feel like sitting with Peter and Edmund, because they were talking about something called 'England' and she knew nothing about this. Finally, there was Lucy, painting reflectively and staring out at the pool ahead of her. She smiled, and hopped up on the rock, unaware of Edmund's eyes following her.

She watched over the smaller girl's shoulder, entranced by the intricate colours and lines that covered the canvas. It would undoubtedly be beautiful. She looked away from the canvas and jumped down from the rock, finding a soft patch of grass and sitting down on it. She soon lay down her head and closed her eyes. The warmth of the sunshine was soaked up by her skin, and she fell asleep.

* * *

Susan, too, had closed her eyes, and was thinking about non important things when one thing in particular came to her attention. She stirred slightly, and Caspian moved to give her more room. She smiled slightly when she opened her eyes, and found two brown eyes locked on her own. "Caspian," She started. Caspian looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked, the single word undaunted by his accent. Susan smiled again, and then raised her eyebrows in question. "What's your last name?" She asked. Caspian lifted his eyes from hers, and frowned. "To be honest, no one had ever asked me that question before." He said, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He smiled. Susan mirrored his smile. Caspian looked back at her. "My last name was often referred to as Telmarinscho. It means Son of Telmar. All kings were given this last name, of course, because they were the supposed sons of Telmar." He answered, pondering on the thought.

Susan looked away and said the word several times, getting used to hearing it fall from her own tongue. "It's very intricate." She stated, looking across the glade to the others. Sophia, Lucy and Edmund were standing together, talking in excited voices. Susan wondered what they were planning now.

Caspian leaned over and whispered in her ear. "It will be yours, soon." He whispered, his hot breath ghosting over her cheek. Susan suppressed a shiver and faced him again. She leant forward and caught his lips with her own. "Indeed." She whispered, showing Caspian the wicked look that lay concealed in her eyes.

* * *

Lucy, Edmund and Sophia were standing in a tight circle. They were going to hold a running contest. Sophia because she felt the need to let off some steam, Lucy because she need to stretch her tight limbs, and Edmund, though heavily defending he wasn't, because Sophia competed. He wanted to show off. But he would have denied that, too.

Soon, the rules had been set and all three of them were drawn up behind an imaginary line, and Peter counted down to zero from five. The commotion had drawn the attention of Caspian and Susan, and the two were now looking on with interest. "Three!" Peter called, and Sophia, Edmund and Lucy tensed their muscles. "Two!" He called, and Sophia began to grit her teeth. "One!" Peter called, and Edmund took in a breath.

"Go!" He shouted, laughing out loud when three bodies launched simultaneously, like springs. All of the clenched muscles released, and Edmund released his breath. His legs began pumping, and he gained speed across the lawn, with Sophia steadily beside him. Lucy wasn't quite as fast, and stopped just before truly entering the forests concealed in the glade.

She turned back with a smirk and trotted happily towards the others. Peter saw her smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Did you plan that?" He asked incredulously, fighting to keep a laugh out of his voice. Lucy gave a self-satisfied nod and smiled innocently. "I wonder how long they'll keep going…" She said deviously, before Susan, Caspian and Peter erupted in laughter.

* * *

Edmund felt more than alive, with the wind streaming through his hair and past his fast-moving body. With Sophia running beside him, there was no greater thrill. They thundered through the forest beyond the glade, not ever looking back. It almost felt as if they were running from something, but that sense was soon replaced by exhilaration. Sophia, too, felt exactly the same. As her feet pounded the soft earth, her thoughts stretched out and wandered, but she still kept focused on one goal. Beating Edmund.

There would be no greater glory! Well, for the time being. She levelled her head and ran on, past trees and bushes and several startled Narnians. Edmund looked on in wonder, then shook his head and continued. Breath was coming shorter and shorter for him, though Sophia showed no signs of tiring! "Hey," He said, running beside her again.

She cast a look at him but answered anyways. "Hey." She said. Edmund smiled. "Do we even have a course?" He asked, thinking of it at that moment. Sophia stopped suddenly and panted hard, out of breath, smiling giddily. Edmund bent over next to her, panting just as hard. "No!" Sophia managed to wheeze out between gasps of breath. "Do you," She gasped, "Know where we are?" She asked, panting again.

Edmund looked around, and then shook his head. "No." He panted. Sophia gave a laugh and pushed him roughly to the side. Edmund regained his footing and smiled at her, the exhilaration catching up to him. "We're lost!" Sophia announced, and she shouted loudly. No one could hear them, though. She knew that, too. Edmund put a supportive hand on her shoulder and sent her a smile. Sophia returned it, and together, they began their journey back. Edmund smiled. Aslan smiled upon him this day.

* * *

Ezera had seen the whole spectacle from begin to finish. The spy's attention had already piqued because of the princess. His mission had been to find the princess and learn as much about her as he possible could. That meant the second part of the plan was to be instigated. Education. He needed to know everything there was to know about the princess in her current residence, the people she lived with and what was going to happen to her in the future.

That was a future Ezera and Ardu were trying to prevent from happening. If she were allowed to live, she had the ability to form an army against Calormen, and that would surely be the downfall of them all. Even though she was a woman, she was very clever; Ezera had to grant her that. He had seen the running contest, and the copper-haired girl's clever plan. He had been sitting high in a tree when Sophia and Edmund ran past, and he had tried heavily to keep with them.

He had lost them in the end, but it didn't matter. He left the glade and went to the tavern he resided in, on the edge of Cair Paravel City and sent a message to his king.

_The Narnians have her, Lord King. I will learn as much as I can about her. It would be wise to prepare your army, sir. This is the perfect chance to wage war against Narnia. Ezera._

And as he watched the messenger hawk lift into the evening sky, he couldn't help but think how this was the perfect opportunity. Eliminate the princess, and the country that had been a thorn in Calormen's side once and for all.

* * *

**So? How do you like the new layout? I'll be using this from now on, and once the story is finished, I'll edit the previous chapters, too. Sorry for the late update... I hope I haven't kept many of you waiting too long. **

**I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Remember to review! **

**And a huge thanks to my good friend; SpectrumLight for reading it over for me. And to my readers! Thank you for sticking by me to the very end!**

**~ SunsetWanderer**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It took three days for Ezera's messenger hawk to reach Calormen and deliver the news to King Ardu. And in that time, Edmund learned more about Sophia than he had ever dared to hope. They did make it back to the castle at one point. It took them little over an hour to track their way back and out of the glade they had run into. The conversed like friends, even though they did not know much about each other. That, too, would soon be fixed. But neither of them knew it just yet. They spoke, mainly about Sophia's hobbies and aspirations. She had never really set her mind on becoming Queen of Calormen, Edmund learned.

She would have rather spent her days as a soldier in the army. Fighting, sparring in general was something she loved to do. In her youth she was often found in the army's training fields, taking on her cousins' best, and beating them from time to time. Her lithe and strong frame, quick wit and gleaming blade made her the perfect soldier. If only she weren't a girl. The men looked down on her, ridiculed her because she had the gall to handle the blade she carried. She was picked upon, bullied and laughed at. This scarred her, but she recovered quickly. She was, after all, a girl with a fierce spirit that refused to be doused.

It was a lovely morning, one very much like the day before. The royals had decided to leave their visits to the glade until later, because they were very much aware just how deep Sophia and Edmund had travelled. They were having breakfast in the dining hall now, with the sunlight streaming into the bright space by the glass dome on the roof, as well as the glass windows set into the wall. Sophia was sitting opposite Edmund, ribbing him gently about the bruise he'd gotten from falling off of his horse that morning. The sound of her teasing and laughter carried through the hall and made many servants and said royals at the table turn their head.

Susan and Caspian sat next to each other, with Caspian at the head of the table and Susan to his right. "She's going to do his head in…" Susan muttered softly, shaking her head in slight amusement. Their hands were clasped together on the table top, and Caspian's thumb circled around on the skin and the knuckles with smooth strokes, caressing the hand with his own. It was a serene moment where neither needed to speak, as if their eyes solidified a bond between them where they didn't need to speak their thoughts; as if one look in the other's eyes was enough to transfer every thought they were thinking.

On the other end of the table, Sophia was still teasing Edmund, whose ears were growing redder by the second. "Come on! You should have seen your face when you fell! Ha!" And she erupted into laughter again. "The great king Edmund, master swordsman, yet unable to stay seated on his own horse!" And she laughed until she cried. Edmund sat looking at her, trying to suppress a goofy smile from spreading itself over his face. He felt stupid for falling off earlier, but he would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant to make her laugh like this again. Her laugh was like the rain on a clear day, the peals doing nothing but cleansing everything around her.

"Oh, Gods…" Sophia muttered, wiping the tears out of her eyes before starting to eat her breakfast again. Another jab rose within her and she couldn't suppress it. She opened her mouth to make another statement, but her words were cut short by the doors of the dining hall as they opened and closed with a resounding thud. A Griffin flew inside, circling over the table before landing with a mighty flap of its wings. Caspian had already risen from his chair when the griffin entered, and was watching as the beast made its way over.

"My king, a letter has been delivered to you." And he stuck out his paw obediently so Caspian could unroll the scroll that was tied on there. He unravelled it and his eyes flew over the page. "Well?" Peter demanded, having stood as well, "What does it say?" He asked. Edmund, too, rose from his chair. Susan and Lucy had risen as well, so Sophia remained the only one sitting down. She looked around her trying to catch the eyes of her fellow royals, but when that strategy didn't work, she rolled her eyes and stood up as well.

Caspian cleared his throat and began to speak. "I, King Ardu of Calormen, Leader of my people and ruler of my lands, hereby declare war on the Kingdom Of Narnia for the abduction of my daughter, Princess Sophia of Calormen. You have one chance for negotiation to avoid abominable bloodshed on both our parts. This negotiation is to be held two days after this letter is read." He finished on a heavy tone. A large intake of breath was taken by someone in the room. Immediately, every pair of eyes swivelled around to look at Sophia. Her eyes stood fierce, a flame burning within them. Edmund, however, noticed how this was a desperate attempt to stop tears from flooding her eyes.

And without a second word, she shoved back her chair with an ugly scraping sound and disappeared down the hall. She opened the massive doors and flung them shut behind her with another loud bang. Everybody watched her leave, and no one made any move to assist her or at least check to see if she was faring well. When, I the minutes that followed, nothing happened, Edmund rolled his eyes and followed after her, leaving the hall just as she had done; without a word.

He followed the sound of her soft footsteps down the sandstone halls. He eventually found her sitting on the edge of a fountain inside a smaller courtyard that was circled by open hallways, alike to the structure of a cloister. Her hand was swirling through the clear water, whilst her head was cast down and her thoughts milled freely. Edmund took a seat next to her, and clasped his hands together in his lap. He waited silently, unable to decipher whether he would let her speak first or if he were to make the first attempts at conversation.

"I knew that this would happen, eventually." She said, sounding more fatigued than angry. Edmund frowned softly. "What do you mean?" He asked gently, probing for more information even though he was afraid she would give him none. "Identification; that's how it starts. My father has probably had spies after ever since the day I fled. I never should have…" She answered, ending on a whisper.

Her voice cracked on the last syllable, and the tears she had been trying to hold back were let loose. They fell from her eyelids and splashed down her cheeks. Edmund sat next to her, not knowing what he could do to ease her troubles. He was not very touchy to begin with, and he had no idea how to comfort her. He knew a solution to almost every problem, but not this one.

"It's not your fault," He said awkwardly, rubbing her shoulder blades with one hand. She leant into his touch, something which he had not anticipated. If anything, he had expected her to lean away from him. "I brought this war here. I was the one who instigated all of this. And now I'm threatening the only people who have ever been friendly to me…" She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Sophia knew the gesture was extremely un lady-like, but in this moment she couldn't care less. Edmund felt so much sympathy for her, that he stopped rubbing her shoulders and rested his arm around them.

Sophia leant into his side, before beginning to cry harder. Edmund's shirt became soaked with tears but he did not care. His entire focus had shifted and now only included the sobbing girl in his arms. And only her. Edmund's other arm came to encircle her back and he swept her fully into his arms. Sophia's arms moved to rest around his neck and she clung onto him like a beggar parched by thirst; like someone who had been starved of affection too long.

Her knuckles had turned white and Edmund silently cringed inside at the strong hold she was giving him. Edmund held her whilst she cried. Edmund couldn't help but think how there could be nothing better than this. Thus far, he had always denied to fancying the Calormene princess, but his mind and actions doubted him now.

They were both blissfully unaware that they were being watched by half of the servants present in the palace, plus the Kings and Queens. They had made a wall of people around the cloisters, silent as stars, afraid of making any type of noise. Sophia finally let go of Edmund's neck, and the entire party shuffled to their feet and managed to completely disappear by the time Edmund looked around him.

"Are you alright to return?" He asked her. Sophia gave a wan nod and took the hand he offered. Though, instead of letting it go once she had risen, she held onto it. Edmund allowed her for now, knowing he would have to pry her hand loose once inside. He was not fond of physical contact. On the contrary, he hated it. In the first time of coming into Narnia, the witch had taken horrible advantage of him.

Her touch had felt like the sensations of spiders running down that part of his body, and he loathed it. After his encounter with the witch he had become reclusive when it came to physical contact. Yet, with Sophia's hand tucked securely in his, he didn't feel that crawling sensation. Instead he felt warm from the tips of the fingers she held, to the bottoms of his toes. He knew that she needed him now, and he was prepared to provide all of the comfort she needed.

Servants' stares followed them all the way until they went back into the dining hall. The royals, however, had gone. The table had been cleared, save for a note. Edmund reached over and grabbed it. _We have gone to the Military Strategy room. Peter. Ps. You make a cute couple (Lucy forced me to write that…) _Edmund's face heated up. Count on his siblings to tease him about that.

With a flash he realised they had seen the whole thing unfold. This only made his face impossibly redder than before. He scrunched up the note and put it in his pocket. He took Sophia's hand again, and together they walked through the castle until they reached they reached their destination. No words were spoken between them during their brisk walk, yet it seemed that the contact between their hands was enough.

The Military Strategy Room was located in one of the west spires of the castle. It was a large octagonal room with a window that gave a 180 degree view of the forests. It had a large maple octagonal strategy table that was covered in a huge map of Narnia and its surrounding countries. When Sophia and Edmund entered, the kings and queens inside immediately turned their attention away from the strategy table and towards the two. Susan noticed with a smirk that Edmund's hand was entwined with Sophia's. Lucy just about died of cuteness.

Yet all the royals, struck as they were about the whole spectacle, managed to retain facades of seriousness. Caspian and Peter gave simultaneous nods to the two, before turning back to the table. Sophia let go of Edmund's hand as he joined the two kings, and walked straight into Susan's open arms, giving her an affectionate hug. Susan gave a reassuring squeeze before steering Sophia over to the table.

Narnia was outlined in red, with Calormen, Archenland and Ettismoor bordering it on three sides; the sea bordering it on the east. A specific area on the west area of the map had been highlighted by the scattering of troop figures. Upon closer inspection she realised it was the area where Calormen bordered Narnia; the fields of Asphodel. "That's where we can meet the Calormen army head on, once they arrive." Caspian explained after seeing her scrunch up her brows in thought. Sophia raised her head and nodded at him.

Peter looked at her. "We really need all the information about Calormen we can get. I know you're still shaky, but we need it sooner than later." Peter said gently. Sophia's gaze flitted from Caspian to Peter and she nodded. "I will. Tomorrow." She said, grim determination laced in her voice. Lucy stood next to her and looked admiringly up at her. Sophia looked down and gave Lucy a sad smile. It wasn't over yet.

They talked late into the night about battle tactics. Sophia later learned that they were hoping to be at the fields of Asphodel before the Calormene Army arrived. That way they would have to plough into the Narnian army before being able to travel further into Narnia itself. It was a tactical decision that required some tactics to be made.

They had decided to take three quarters of the army, whilst the rest patrolled Narnia's borders to make sure their adversaries didn't play dirty. Sophia herself was unsure of Calormen's numbers, so she decided to stick by the safer side. Letters had been sent to the families of the soldiers, and the population had been informed. The situation was terse, because it had sprung up out of nowhere. The negotiation had also been set up; even though they all knew it would be futile.

Finally, their meeting came to an end and the rulers retired to their chambers. Sophia stopped briefly outside Edmund's room, because hers was just around the corner. The hallways were empty, but Edmund took a double check, just to make sure no certain siblings would spy on them. They faced each other. Sophia gently leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Edmund's back as his arms encircled hers. His hands rubbed comfortingly over her back with long strokes. He let her go, but now she was standing only a breath apart from him.

"I'll always be here, you know." He said reassuringly. Sophia smiled. "I know." She whispered, before boldly pressing a kiss to his cheek. And the next second she was gone. Edmund stared at the empty hallway for a few seconds before collecting the thoughts that scattered the moment Sophia's lips touched his cheek. His mind had gone completely numb. His fingers unconsciously probed the unmarred surface of his face, before he ran a hand through his hair and disappearing into his room.

It **definitely** wasn't over yet.

* * *

**Yes, I know it has taken me ANOTHER month to update, but never fear! I will never abandon this story! I don't know if I'm up to make a sequel yet, but let me know what you think! A huge thanks to any of you who still wait eagerly for any update! I really cherish you guys, because you're just awesome. **

**So, how do you think the plot is unfolding? I wanted to hurry the story up, but let me know if the Edmund/Sophia relationship is going too fast! **

**Enjoy!**

**PS. Thanks to the lovely laptops the school has given my grade to lend, I can now write whenever I'm bored in class, ESPECIALLY history...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The next morning, even before the dawn lifted, Sophia was up. She had done as Peter asked and collected everything she knew about the Calormenes. She had collected notes and drawings spread over countless sheets and sheets of parchment. She had gotten up early in the morning to write everything out, and as she added the finishing touches to the final drawing of the structure of the regiments in the army, her conscious slipped and she fell forward onto her page. She shot up straight after, and wildly shook her head to gain her bearings.

She had been up for four hours already, drawing and writing meticulously. She had risen from her bed far before the sun had, and it was taking its toll. She was used to rising later, when the sun had risen and was streaming through her bedroom windows. Every so often, her eyelids would drop in exhaustion and her head would droop. Whenever her concentration went lax she had to literally tear herself away from impending sleep and continue. The hours she and the Pevensies had spent in the military strategy room combined with the early rise meant she had received very little sleep.

Once more her mind relaxed and her eyes closed fully. The quill pen dropped out of her hand as her fingers lost their grip and landed on the writing table with a small 'tock'. Her head landed on her folded arms and she drifted away and into sleep. Around this time Edmund was walking around outside her chambers, on his way to the dining hall when he heard the pen roll off the table and drop onto the floor. Curiosity piqued, he walked over towards her door and knocked. "Sophia?" He called. No answer. Again he rapped his knuckles against her door, but there was no response.

Unable to keep from doing so, Edmund opened the door slightly and peered inside. His chivalrous mind screamed out that it was unjust, and went totally against his morals. But Sophia had drawn the deepest emotions out of him that were totally new to him, and he truly could not help himself even if he had wanted to.

The bed was in disarray, with the covers strewn around haphazardly, but Sophia was not there. When he opened the door further, he got a further view of her room. It was immaculately made, until his gaze landed upon the Princess herself. She was sitting slumped over the writing table, with her arms resting under her head and the countless notes she had produced on a separate table to dry.

Edmund gave a soft smile at seeing her usually strong form folded over like a small child, with a sliver of drool hanging out of the corner of her mouth. It was too cute. In moments like this he wished so hard Narnia had cameras.

Feeling like an intruder standing in her doorway for everyone to see, Edmund stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind him. He walked over to her and checked her pulse. She was fast asleep. Edmund decided that she couldn't sleep like this. Her frame would be all cramped when she woke up next.

So he lifted her frame in the slightest and slipped his arms under her knees and back. He lifted her up and grunted with effort. She was heavier than he had expected. He walked over to the bed and gently laid her down. He arranged to covers so she lay under them, and looked on as she slept. He needed to go to the dining room, he remembered. Peter and Caspian wanted to discuss the impending war with him. He was about to walk away when a hand caught his wrist.

Sophia had been faintly aware of being lifted in her subconscious state of sleep. The arms that held her were strong and secure, emitting warmth that she happily soaked up. _Edmund_, her mind muttered faintly. She smiled dozily and nestled herself further against his chest. Next she felt herself being laid on a bed, presumable hers, unless he had just walked through the hallways of Cair Paravel where his chambers adjoined hers. The covers were thrown over her and she was tucked in, very much like a small child.

A memory was brought up to the fore-front of her mind. Before her father became obsessed with the idea he would often lie with her at night before she fell asleep to watch over her. She missed that memory. The older she grew; her father's nightly watches would diminish every time. By the time she was twelve years old, he no longer tucked her in at night. Slowly, she was drifting away from him. So when Edmund moved away, she caught his wrist and whispered; "Stay with me."

Edmund was caught off guard when Sophia voiced her whispered request. His brain screamed at him at the consequence if he was found with her. The castle would well explode with gossip, and only Aslan would know who would hear what theory. Yet, the other part of him that was hopelessly in love and wanted to stay; damn the consequences.

Love. What a strange word. Never had Edmund considered himself to be in love with the Calormene princess, but as he looked down on her, with her small hand wrapped around his wrist, he couldn't deny it. He was in love with her. As for her standings on the matter, he didn't know.

He groaned in his head, praying hopelessly to whatever God was listening that he not be punished for this. He knew it was unchivalrous, unjust and wrong to lie with her; a woman not his spouse. And yet he lay down as she requested, with his clothes fully on and on top of the covers. Sophia nestled into his chest, and Edmund's arms automatically moved to curl around her in a protective hold. After a few more minutes of squirming and incomprehensible utterings, Sophia's breathing pattern evened out, and she fell asleep. Edmund was soon to follow.

* * *

Somewhere else in the castle, another couple was committing this act. Susan and Caspian lay blissfully asleep as the morning light of the sun crept into Susan's chambers and lit the surfaces in her room with light. She lay snuggled under Caspian's chin with his arms securely around her. They were both asleep.

On the previous night, they had both retired separately, but Caspian was plagued by nightmares. Both from the night of his escape; The night he should have been killed, and of the war that was about to be fought. Alas, he could only think of one alternative than to be kept up mercilessly by his dreams. Susan. The lighthouse that called the ship of his being. His calm during the storm; the person that would keep him grounded forever more.

Automatically, like carrying a direct map in his head, Caspian had walked to Susan's chambers wearing nothing more than a pair of cotton sleeping shorts. He had arrived at her door and knocked. Susan had been fast asleep at the time, and the knock had woken her up. To say she was surprised when Caspian stood at her door, shirtless and awkwardly scratching the back of his scalp was an understatement.

But, as helplessly in love as Edmund, she couldn't deny the feeling within her that screamed for her to take him by the arm and pull him inside. They had lain down, and talked for a short while, before both their eyelids began to droop again. They closed them, and feeling nothing short of security, comfort and love itself surrounding them, they fell asleep in each other's arms. What morning would bring, they would accept with open arms.

* * *

Lucy was facing a dilemma. Because of the war, she knew that the engagement ball would have to be postponed, as well as the wedding itself. She knew, as did almost everybody else in the palace that Caspian and Susan wanted nothing more than to have their wedding as soon as possible. This war with the Calormenes, however, threw quite a spanner into the works. The engagement ball she had promised to plan was not too big of an issue. She was almost sure that everyone in Cair Paravel City knew of the exciting relationship between the Queen of old and Narnia's new king.

The wedding was inevitable to be held after the war was over, Lucy thought. Of course, the probability of losing against Calormen was a real plausible one. It pained her to think about potentially losing her family members in that brutal fight. Edmund, Peter, Susan, Caspian, and of course, Sophia. The Calormene princess had become as much family to the young Queen as her actual siblings. It had only been three weeks since her arrival, and yet it seemed like she had known her for much, much longer.

With some displeasure, Lucy sent out the letters to her servants and the invited guests that the ball had been cancelled, due to the war that was steadily looming on the horizon. She didn't like it one bit, but would have agreed later that it wasn't really necessary anyways. After this had been done, she spent quite some time musing quietly and looking out of the window. Her role in the war would be to man the healing tent. It was a role she wasn't proud of, she wanted to fight, as well, but Peter forbade her every time. Although it was unfair, Lucy knew he only wanted to protect her.

* * *

After a quiet morning, and a torrent of letters that had been sent, the royals continued to spend their time preparing for the war. By lunchtime, the army was ready, and with great pleasure Peter announced that Archenland had pledged its troops to Narnia. They had only surrendered two regiments to be added to Narnia's eight, but the addition of artillery troops would be greatly beneficial overall. No one questioned the strange occurrence of both Susan and Caspian, and Sophia and Edmund arriving at the same time.

By nightfall, the Narnians had started a steady march up to the Fields of Asphodel, with the Kings and Queens, and the Princess out front. They would meet Calormen head on, and there would be hell to pay when they did.

* * *

**Chapter 13 is up! This one's a little bit of a filler (Some Fluff included) for the next few chapters. I didn't want to jump straight into the war, so I wrote this. I'm not entirely proud of it, because it was written in a tad of a rush, but let me know what you think! Next chapter will be the prelude to the war; preparations and whatnot. A huge thanks to any of my readers who are still reading; You guys are awesome!** **Let me know what you're thinking about the chapter, guys. I like reviews ^^**

**~SunsetWanderer**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was well after midnight, though before the rising of the sun, when the Narnian army set up camp on the fields of Asphodel. It did not take them long, but before the rest of the convoy arrived they spent another hour doing nothing. Setting up camp meant two things. One; they had to set up all of the soldier's tents, and two; they had to get ready for their negotiations with King Ardu in the morning. Peter, Susan and Caspian were all antsy, already gearing up for any type of attack that might befall them. Sophia, Edmund and Lucy were blissfully unaware of the stress that their elders were bearing.

Sophia had not seen much of Narnia, save for the visit to the glade and the occasional visit into the City. She was nothing short of amazed and gobsmacked at the size of the country. She fawned over the scenic landscapes and the rich variety of life in those landscapes. She cried with delight every time they crossed paths with another Talking Animal, and after a while, mustered up the courage to talk to them, too. Her eyes bulged with admiration and surprise at everything around. It was very much like being a small child again, fascinated by the big world. To everyone else, she seemed like a child in a candy store, wishing to see and touch everything.

They had walked a fair way. The convoy had left early in the evening on the second day after the arrival of the letter. It was a miracle that they had arrived at the Fields when they had. They had to cross numerous large plains, crossing through the Shuddering Woods and the River Beruna. They had to walk from the coastline to the edge of Narnia's border, crossing from east to west, and although the journey had been long and arduous and tiring, they arrived in high spirits. It was almost as if Aslan had helped them to walk the entire way. The Great Lion himself had not been heard of since he allowed the Pevensies to stay. Lucy had sought him out many times, but alas, he had not revealed himself. It was something Lucy was a tad sad about.

Finally, the camp had been set up and the soldiers were asleep. Save for Susan, Caspian and Sophia. The three were huddled around a small and dying fire. Edmund and Peter had fallen like tin soldiers when they hit the soft surfaces of their beds, exhausted with effort. Lucy had taken a bit longer to fall asleep, but her young body was not used to travelling such copious amounts of distance, and so, she too, had fallen asleep easily.

Sophia was like an insomniac, not being able to sleep because of the great ordeal she and the others would have to face in the morning. She was stressed beyond measure about what would happen the next day. She feared to lose everything she had built up in Narnia, from her relationships with the Pevensies and Caspian, as well as her fragile and strange relationship with Edmund. She had no idea of his views towards the bond they shared, but she treasured it. He had given her the first morsels of love she had ever felt.

Caspian and Susan were more bent on spending the rest of their time together, how little time that may seem. They wanted nothing more than to sleep, and to sleep together, but their one night of absolute peace and serenity felt so morally wrong that they didn't dare to attempt it again, lest someone find them and spread the news all over Narnia. Caspian had the mindset to stay completely chivalrous during their courtship, and he wanted nothing more than to uphold himself on that promise.

The cold of the night was biting, and they sat huddled together. Susan was leaning into Caspian's side, whilst his arm was hanging around her shoulders. Sophia sat across from them, but her gaze was set on the flames of the fire. She didn't look up once. Caspian was whispering nothings into Susan's ear, whilst his love and comfort spread though her; from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. It was an uncontrollable wave that crested and crashed over and over again without ceasing.

It amazed her to see how much Caspian had already changed in the time she had been there. It was only now that it really hit her how much he was still the same, yet so different. His muscles had grown impossibly more, accentuating his tanned skin and dark hair. His hair had grown, too, back to the way it had been before she left. The dark strands were as silky as she remembered them. His dark eyes smouldered in the flickering firelight. Sometimes, Caspian stopped and they stared into the night sky, or the flames, before reverting to whispering in hushed tones again.

Caspian stopped, and watched Sophia. Susan knew she could have been feeling a pang of jealousy whenever he did that, but she didn't. She knew the girl held a special place in her heart for her little brother, and that Edmund did the same. They would just need a small push in the same direction.

"Sophia." Her name, said by the Narnian king caused said princess' head to snap up and meet Caspian's eye. "Yes." She answered. Caspian gave a curt nod and rose. "Come with me, I have something to show you." He said. Sophia raised one eyebrow before nodding to herself and rising. Susan followed suit and stood beside Caspian, her hand finding his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Caspian gave her a fleeting smile and squeezed back, before leading her and Sophia away from the fire and into the darkness.

He led them through the forest, weaving in between groups of tents and single campfires. He stopped when they arrived near the stables, a makeshift pen where the horses would sleep. One horse, a large black male stood pawing at the fence-post to which he was tied, pulling on the rope and bristling with loud huffs. "Iskios!" Sophia hollered, and the large dark-black horse whirled around, pawing even harder at the ground to free himself. Susan gave Caspian a grin. Sophia had reached the horse and was stroking the beast's mane whilst the horse in question huffed happily. His large head lay cradled in her hands and she cooed over him.

"Where did you find him?" Sophia gushed, kissing Iskios' nose and patting it. "Some of the guards were patrolling when they found him. They realised it must have been yours, since wild horses have not been sighted in a long time, and no horses were reported missing, save for yours." Caspian said, smiling to himself when he realised how happy Sophia was with the large beast.

Susan was looking the large horse over, when she spotted a pig-skin saddlebag still strapped to Iskios' back. "What's this?" She asked, walking over and taking it off. Sophia frowned and walked over to Susan's side, taking the bag. She opened it and took out a long, dangerously curved sword. Susan took an automatic step back when she heard the sound of the metal being unsheathed. This sword was nothing like the one strapped at Sophia's hip.

It was sharper and stronger, and foreign. Sophia grinned. "Harbringer." She grinned. Meaning 'Hellbringer' this sword was the first blade she had learned to carry. Many carried it with the curve pointing upwards, but she carried so the curve pointed down. She carried it in her left hand, which enabled her to dual wield with Harbringer in one hand, and her rapier in the other. Caspian looked over Susan's shoulder at the strange blade. "What is that?" He asked. Sophia looked at him and sheathed it again. "That is what Calormen will fight with tomorrow." She said bluntly.

Caspian frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He couldn't think of anything to say whilst his teammate handled this lethal weapon. "We will need to train." He finally said grimly. Susan shot him a look, but he didn't catch it. Sophia nodded absentmindedly. "Alright, head up to bed. We will need you at your strengths tomorrow." Caspian said, sounding quite authorative. Sophia gave him a curt nod and petted Iskios a bit longer before turning away from her horse and vanishing into the blackness.

Susan walked over to Caspian and stood beside him, caressing his bicep. The muscle had grown taut, and Caspian's face was barely managing to hide the distaste and concern. Susan slid her hands up the warm muscle, marvelling at the strength. "Caspian," She whispered. When he showed no signs to relaxing, she leaned up and pressed a long and soft kiss to his lips. Caspian visibly relaxed now, relaxing in her arms and letting out a breath.

"What are you worried about?" She whispered. Caspian turned to face her, and his dark eyes softened. "About where Sophia's loyalties lie. I fear she may turn on us." Caspian admitted. Susan let out a breath. "How did this come about?" She asked him, and managing to lead him gently towards their respective tents. Though, both of them knew that tonight they wouldn't be sleeping alone. Caspian met her eyes. "Did you not see the way she handled her weapon; the way she fawned over her own horse. I am afraid the desire to fight for her people will smother the desire she has to stay with us." He said.

Susan gave him a gentle smile, and now it was Caspian's turn to stand and marvel at the effects of a simple quirk of her lips. A simple smile of hers was enough to turn his knees into water, into nothing short of a drooling mess. A smile from her lips was enough to send him into vertigo. He felt like he could take on the world in that moment and he was left with desire louder than all of the others. He wanted nothing more than to make her smile again.

Her small hands gripped at his arm and Caspian's eyes flickered down to her lips, then up to her eyes again. He lost himself in the pools of blue, and before she could even say the words on her lips, Susan's words were silenced by Caspian's mouth on hers. She moaned by accident, and Caspian's hands moved from his side to grip her arms. The kiss intensified. Before Susan knew it she was pressed against the trunk of a tree, with her arms braced above her head and Caspian's lips ravaging hers. It continued, and all Susan could think about was how her mind was in absolute oblivion.

Eventually, Caspian pulled away. Susan dropped her cramped arms and gave him another smile. Caspian felt his heart soar. "As I was saying before," She said, "Before I was rudely **interrupted**," And she glared pointedly at Caspian in mock anger. Caspian gave a grin of his own and tucked her under his shoulder. "Continue," He said in, which earned him another mock glare and soft cuff around the head. Caspian laughed at their playful banter, yet quieted down.

"Sophia's loyalties to us are greater than those binding her to her people. We have given her something her parents never had; family. Even though they were her family, they never really loved her. And besides, I think she fancies Edmund." Susan said, looking serious but cheering up by the end of her sentence. Her eyes sparked mischievously. Caspian looked up and lifted both of his eyebrows in an expression that screamed confusion and disbelief. Susan laughed at his expression. "Come on! Have you not noticed it?" She cried in equal disbelief. Caspian slowly shook his head, before bending down and whispering something in her ear. "How can I focus on them when my attention is reserved for only you?" he asked. Susan smiled again.

Caspian walked them to his tent. He shared it with no one, but for the night, he would. He invited Susan inside, taking care not to let any of the soldiers still up to take notice. He closed the tent flap behind him and proceeded to take off his brigandine. It was a little damaged and dusty, but he still wore it. He laid it over a chair and undid the laces on his shirt. Susan watched everything happen, and before she could see any more she turned away her head. Her cheeks were a fiery red.

Caspian saw it happen and smirked. He took off his shirt and walked over to her. He dropped the shirt in her hands and grinned devilishly. "For your courtesy, Ma'am, I will stand outside." He said, and proceeded to do so. He waited until the rustling of Susan's clothing finished, not helping to censor his thoughts on how he couldn't wait to be the one taking off her clothes. Call him perverted, but they were engaged, and there was only so much a man could take.

He went back inside and peeled back the covers of his bed. He lay down on his side and patted the empty space next to him. Susan obliged and lay down, quickly tucking her head into the crook of Caspian's neck. One of Caspian's hands came to rest under her face, whilst the other one curled around her belly. Susan squirmed for a few minutes, before settling comfortably. Caspian watched the angel in his arms fall asleep; thinking on how he could not have gotten luckier. She was an absolute miracle; and she was all his.

* * *

**Chapter 14! woop! Another achievement, in my eyes! Okay, okay, I lied. This one turned out to be another filler, but I hope you'll forgive me! Next chapter will start out with King Ardu and his men, so we'll see his side of the story, too. **

**And we got another Suspian moment! Whoo! I've gotten quite a number of reviews asking about them, seeing as the story was based off of their relationship to begin with, so I added that in too. My goal is too include more of their moments, as well as Edmund and Sophia's. I hope to make both of their, what do you call it, exposure in the plotline the same. **

**Hope it makes sense!**

**Chapter question: Who's your favourite person/pairing in the story thus far and why? **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

King Ardu grimaced visibly when he saw the red and gold flags and velvet tents decorate the horizon ahead of him. He had always known that the Narnians would rise up the way they did to protect what they considered to be one of their own. He scoffed. 'One of their own'. What a ridiculous sentiment. Sophia belonged to him, and only him. He was her father, therefore she was his property, and would surely face the consequences of running away once they were back on home land. He would have her executed in plain view of all of his nobles and people. No, first he would shame her. Shame her like in the days before she ran.

He thought back with a satisfied smirk. Yes, the treatment that he had planned for her would shame her endlessly and crush her fragile spirit. She thought she had courage, but Ardu would ensure every last bit of it was reduced to rubble when he was through with her. He could still remember her screams of anguish and pain as they echoed throughout the hallways of the palace as another one of his men conquered her.

After a small while, especially because Ardu discovered that it worked, did the method where he crushed her spirit for a few days at a time work. Every week, on every Thursday, he would invite one of his lords over for supper, or lunch, or anything in which he could gain more land, more resources, or more men for his army. Anything where he would gain something. After the meal that they shared, Sophia would be requested for her services. If the men were interested, of course. But all men were greedy landlords that had wives purely to gain power and reputation, and most of the lords found that whenever they married such lady, they would find themselves in divorce soon after. Not that it mattered.

The men would have been deprived of female company, and with Ardu offering a night with a woman, a princess, no less, and in the grounds of the castle? That offer was often too much for any greedy and lusty landlord to refuse. So they would be led to a specially prepared bedchamber, where the princess would be waiting, and they would have their way with her. Everything was open to them for use; as long as they didn't leave the room.

Ardu executed this plan specifically to reduce Sophia to nothing but an emotional wreck. The extra pros meant he practised good relations with the lords themselves, which meant they would be open for future trade, and entertained his guests most pleasantly. He rarely received a lord who was against this idea, but this was Calormen, and even if the guest refused, he wouldn't think twice about the poor, tainted girl being held against her will.

In the first days, she would scream her throat raw every time a man took her. Ardu remembered the screams of pain as they ricocheted through the castle, being bounced back on the walls and being carried by the wind. It gradually became easier for her, but it still hurt. When she became thirteen, she got her monthly cycle. Ardu couldn't just stop entertaining his guests, because by now, the services he offered were renowned through the whole of Calormen. So, he tuned the regular visits down and ordered her to drink a special tea every morning to stop her from having her monthly cycle completely. Everything had worked fine, until she ran away.

He thumped the saddle beneath him with angry fists. Damn her! The gods would surely frown down upon her on this day. He could only imagine what she had been feeling in Narnia. He could only hope that they hadn't treated her like the spoilt princess she was.

Besides, he could not believe that the Narnians had arrived before him. The long journey must have taken its toll, but the Narnians stood fierce and proud, showing almost no sign of tiring already. They must had arrived a day before them. It was incredulous. How could they have possibly beaten them to the Fields of Asphodel? It was a smart idea, he couldn't deny that. Meeting them head on, so they couldn't progress further into Narnia. The meeting of the two borders was expertly planned out.

But Ardu could still not fathom how on earth the Narnians had arrived so fast. They must have had external help of some sort; some kind of aid to help them progress faster than they would under normal circumstances. A name rose to the fore-front of Ardu's mind, and he gulped. _Aslan._ He had heard many things about that damn meddling lion, but he had never actually seen him.

The name alone was already enough to send shivers up the spine of the Calormene king. In his mind, he pictured a great big lion with a flowing golden mane. His eyes were made of solid gold and they stared holes into your skull. Ardu knew deep down that Aslan must had aided the Narnians somehow. He only hoped that he, his nephews and army would not succumb under the mighty paws of the True King of Narnia.

He beckoned Daniil and Aspar. His two best trusted generals and nephews rode up alongside him. "Prepare two of your best men. They will guard us when we come out to meet the Narnians. Prepare yourself, as well." He ordered, his tone was hard and his jaw was set. Daniil and Aspar looked at each other and nodded. They turned around and rode away, shouting orders as they went. Ardu's mouth had become a grim line.

* * *

Sophia couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, but couldn't succumb herself to the clutches of sleep, that usually reached for her greedily. She slept in spurts, falling in and out of consciousness. So eventually, having enough, she rose. She clothed herself in a mixture of Calormene and Narnian wear. She wore a set of beige trousers, and a light brown lace shirt. On that she wore a black jerkin, with her sword and Harbinger on opposing hips. She strode out of the tent and immediately made her way over to a set of training fields.

The dummies were already set up, and she pitted herself against them. Striking and slashing with vigour, she slashed off arms, legs and heads with Harbringer and her rapier. She felt her blood beginning to hum through her veins faster with each increased movement. Her blood became alive under her skin. Her muscles moved in absolute synchronisation. Finally, she stopped.

Something felt wrong. She felt her stomach crawling, something which always happened when her father and cousins were near. She stopped and sheathed her swords as quickly as she could. She almost tripped over her feet in her rush to get to the font of the camp as quickly as possible. The crawling in her stomach increased, and she clutched it in a desperate attempt to soothe the aches.

When she made it, she saw a talking animal, a falcon sitting on a perch and grooming its feathers. "Falcon, could you do something for me?" She asked, walking over to it. The falcon looked up. "The name is Fenir, my princess. And of course, name it and I shall follow." Fenir said. Sophia smiled. "Fly that way," She pointed out towards she felt Ardu would be, "And tell me what you see. I fear Calormen is on its way." She said, fear in her eyes.

Fenir gave a short nod, before hopping on her arm, and lifting off. Sophia watched the falcon disappear into the sky and waited nervously, switching her weight to each ball of her foot. She hopped uneasily from foot to foot for about ten minutes before Fenir returned. He looked white as a sheet. He bypassed Sophia and flew up to the lookout towers. "Call the kings and queens!" He yelled.  
Sophia's heart skipped a beat, and nerves began to pool in her stomach. She was rooted to the spot, staring out over the horizon, already seeing the dust cloud that the horses' hooves and infantrymen would be creating. Nerves were gradually turning into fear. As the cloud rose into the sky, her eyes followed it, before reverting back to the horizon. Sophia was trying desperately not to panic. Her teeth were clenched tightly.

She felt a presence next to her. The appearance was so sudden that it gave her a fright, and she whirled around, unsheathing Harbringer and holding it in front of her. Peter let out a yell and took a step back, tripping over in the process and landing in a dusty heap on the ground. Sophia would have let out a bark of laughter if it weren't for the nerves wreaking havoc on her. "Peter!" Sophia shouted, half-relieved and half-afraid. She quickly sheathed her sword and stood next to him. Peter wiped some sweat from his brow and accepted her hand as she hoisted him back up.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, and soon Edmund joined Sophia's other side. Caspian, Lucy and Susan were next to arrive, all donned in their battle gear. Fenir had collected them faster than Sophia could have hoped. Her eyes swept over them all. Swords had been sheathed and bows had been strung. They were ready for battle. Sophia so hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

Ever so minutely, Edmund's hand entwined with hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Sophia met Edmund's bottomless brown eyes and gave him the smallest of smiles. She held firmly onto his hand, taking the last bit of comfort in the gesture to hold on to before letting his hand go. Edmund had reverted his eyes to the horizon.

By now, the Calormen army had set themselves up. They, on the contrary, had not set up camp. There simply wasn't enough time. The vast convoy of men had broken apart and had set up their ranks, exactly as Sophia described how they would. The formed a grid, with 3 regiments of men in the front, together with another three lines behind the first one. Numerous soldiers were pacing in between the ranks of men, sorting them out and shouting orders. From these ranks a group of men broke away, bearing a dark blue flag with an intricately drawn star. Sophia didn't even have to squint to figure out who the men were.

The other held their hands in front of their faces as the men approached; the sunlight glinting off of their armour. Susan, Peter and Lucy all had eyes that weren't used to the harsh sunlight of the Fields Of Asphodel. Sophia, Caspian and Edmund, however, had eyes that could cope with the huge amount of sunlight. Sophia and Caspian because they originated from this kind of climate, and Edmund because he had always possessed this gift, as opposed to his siblings.

The nerves that had been coiling in Sophia's stomach like snakes began to writhe fully, gaining size and intensity. Her eyes swept down the line of the rulers next to her. They all met her eyes, and Caspian nodded slowly. "Let's meet with them." He said. Sophia nodded in return. Slowly and steadily, like in a rehearsed scene, the five rulers and princess walked out towards the dots of men in the plain ahead of them.

Sophia looked around once more behind her, and was surprised to find a solid wall of soldiers in armour standing behind them, backing them up silently. Fauns, griffins, centaurs and talking animals. You name it, it was all there. Edmund's hand was there to tug her back again, and she turned around to face her family once more.

They arrived soon, and formed a line in front of the Calormene king and his generals. King Ardu sat on a rough, wooden, and obviously makeshift throne. A large, white square of fabric had been strung up on poles to provide shade. The guards that had come with them formed a protective semi-circle around the small group of rulers, facing outwards. Not a soul was to come in between these negotiations today. Or, rather, what would become of them.

Sophia had taken her place next to Edmund and Peter, who was standing next to Lucy, who was standing next to Susan, with Caspian on the end of the line. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, with her hands folded behind her back. She looked every bit of a soldier; not one muscle was slack. All were taut like a bowstring. She was ready to pounce and fight if the need arose.

Aspar was the first to grin sadistically and menacingly. "Look what the cat dragged in, Uncle. Traitor King Caspian and his whore, together with his motley crew of rulers. An up-himself high king, a dandy flower girl and a traitor to Aslan. Lovely bunch." He said, sounding extremely pleased with himself. He carried himself exactly the way Sophia remembered. His dark bushy eyebrows were set, whilst his dark glinting eyes matched with the even darker hair, and gave him the perfect embodiment of a sly and cruel man. Daniil, his twin, looked exactly like him.

Caspian tried his best to ignore the cruel jab at himself and the ones he knew to be family. When Aspar spoke the very words that described his Susan as a whore he went mad with rage. Susan herself had paled and was clutching onto Caspian's arm, trying her best to soothe him and relieve him of the red haze in front of her fiancée's eyes. Caspian pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few calming breaths.

Peter was now scowling, and had taken up a protective position in front of Lucy, who he had manoeuvred to stand behind him. Edmund's eyes had become hard set. His entire exterior had become a hard shell of indifference. He tried his best to ignore the jab at his past. He knew he had committed a wrong against Aslan and his family, and although he had put it behind him, Aspar's words were enough to re-open the wounds that the White Witch had created.

Sophia knew what Aspar was doing. First, he would attack the people around his target. Only when they were down did he advance on his target himself. It was a way of ensuring that his target would have no back up. Sophia had seen him use that particular tactic multiple times when in battle, and she could have growled at the way Aspar was treating the Narnians. Cut them don with words, before moving on to her.

Sophia could see Aspar's eyes turn onto her, until his gaze was set on her completely. He opened his mouth to say something, and Sophia braced herself internally for the onslaught that was about to come. "Aspar, stay your words." Ardu ordered. Aspar closed his mouth again. Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, to the matters at hand. Sophia did not subject to the Calormene law when she fled, thusly, her punishment is death. She must be returned to us, so we can carry out her punishment." Ardu said, his brows heavy, his tone deep. Aspar had a nasty smirk decorating his face, and Edmund felt the great need to punch it away. Daniil, however, stood reserved in the corner. He watched the scene with great scrutiny.

"So, hand her over," Aspar said, grinning manically. Sophia shot a wild look to Caspian and Peter, but they seemed impervious to it. When it came to Calormene law, they were completely powerless. Edmund, however, had other plans. He could not bear to live with the fact that Sophia, _his Sophia,_ was about to be taken and inevitably executed.

He jumped in front of her in a protective stance and shouted, "You will not take her!" Sophia pushed him aside, but held onto him. "You are in no position to decide so, _Princeling_!" Aspar snarled. Sophia gave a low growl and moved to stand in front of the Pevensies and Caspian. The words Aspar had said ignited the hungry fire in her eyes, and they blazed with passion. Edmund was more than just a prince. "He is a king!" She retorted hotly.

Daniil moved from his place to stand beside Aspar. Aspar himself looked away from Edmund to Sophia, before throwing his hands up in the air triumphantly. "Ah! The prodigal daughter speaks! What have you to say for yourself, Sophia? Running away like the coward you are? We were good to be rid of you! You would have been a useless queen indeed! Come to think of it, you **are** useless! You are nothing but filth and grime. Nothing." Aspar spat, vehemence and pure hatred filling his tone.

"Aspar! Silence!" Ardu shouted above the turmoil. Aspar shut his mouth and looked away, scowling. But the damage had been done. Tears had formed in the corners of Sophia's eyes, and she was blinking them furiously away. Susan walked over to her and cast her arms around the girl. She glared dangerously at Aspar, but he wasn't looking.

Edmund stood up and slowly unsheathed his sword. He walked forward, pointing it upwards until it lay in the hollow of Aspar's neck. Aspar made no move to push the sword away. Instead, he gazed at Edmund with stone and emotionless eyes. "You have no right to speak to her in that way." Edmund said slowly, sounding dangerously menacing. Daniil's eyes moved from the horizon to rest in Edmund. "We do, Narnian. She is our niece, our family by blood and therefore she is our property. Uncle?" He said questioned calmly.

Susan, Caspian, Peter and Lucy had been watching on with leaden shoes. They found that as the situation escalated, they were simply frozen and rooted to the spot. They couldn't do anything but watch. Their faces, however, showed all of the emotions they felt. Hatred, pity and fear.

Edmund tore away, seething. He walked over to Sophia and took her hand in his. In one movement, he sheathed his sword and casted his arms around her. His face was buried in her neck, whilst Sophia's face was not visible above his shoulder. He inhaled her scent and it calmed him down immensely. Sophia had closed her eyes and was soaking in the last resort of safety she knew. Edmund.

Aspar, Daniil and Ardu all looked horrified at the sight. The situation would have almost been comical to Peter and Caspian if it weren't for the desperation in Edmund and Sophia's eyes. "Daniil is right. Sophia is our property, and she must be returned to us." Ardu explained. Things had calmed down significantly, but the tension still remained.

Peter gulped visibly. He knew that the entire Narnian monarchy did not, and could not sway the Calormenes to change their views and plans for Sophia. The only thing that could change them now was war, but Peter didn't want to go there unless it was absolutely necessary. They simply didn't have any influence. This was out of their control. "Let us converse, then." Peter said, with the last shred of dignity he still had within.

Ardu inclined his head. "But of course." He said. With that, he beckoned Aspar and Daniil and turned away. Peter, Susan, Caspian, Sophia, Edmund and Lucy all huddled together in a circle. Sophia had her eyes cast down. Her jaw was clenched, and it was obvious that she was trying not to cry. Edmund had her resting in his arms. His eyes were on her, and nothing else.

"We cannot give her up." Caspian said resolutely. He had made up his mind already. Any doubt that she would leave them were forgotten. They had simply vanished when Sophia plainly defended Edmund's title. She was a valuable asset not only to Narnia, but also to their family. She was not to go. Peter looked at him with desperation.

"This is out of our control, Caspian!" He hissed. Caspian met his eyes and nodded. He knew that they couldn't do anything. Sophia was Calormene, and her family did have the power to forcefully remove her from Narnia, whilst the Narnians had no power to make her stay. The decision would ultimately come down on Sophia herself. She would either give herself up or fight. But in her current state she was in not fit enough to make that decision.

They talked longer, before other factors came into play. They spoke about many other things they could do to ensure her stay, before double-checking and ruling out every possibility they had thought of. It was becoming more and more clear that they were out of options and that they simply didn't have the power to influence the situation. Whether they would let her go or fight, Sophia had to make that decision herself. Edmund plainly refused to the former. She was not going to give her up easily. They would have to pry his hands from her body before he let her go.

Aspar, though, had other plans. He had enough to the dawdling and wanted action soon. "This is enough," He muttered. Daniil grasped his shoulder to stop him, and shook his head. Aspar stubbornly kept moving. "Brother, no." Daniil said. Aspar looked at him and narrowed his eyes. He ripped himself from his brother's grasp and left the space under the shade cloth. When he returned, a limp body was walking in front of him with its eyes cast downwards. The figure's shirt was clasped in Aspar's hands. He threw the figure on the floor, and the resounding thud was enough for the Narnian royalty to raise their heads and look. Sophia paled.

On the dusty ground was a man, barely one, with a lean body and sandy brown hair. It hung in front of the man's eyes as he faced the ground. Aspar grinned cruelly. The Narnian party had fanned out into a line again, and were watching his every move. He unsheathed his sword, before crudely snatching the boy's hair and tilting his head upwards so the Narnians could see who is was. They didn't recognise him. The face had slightly boyish features, ones that were slowly hardening in those of a man.

Sophia, however, did recognise him. "Samuel!" she shouted hysterically and tore herself free from Edmund's arms. She sprinted over to him and landed on her knees in the sand. "Samuel..." she whispered, taking his head in her hands. Samuel smiled softly. "Cousin..." He replied, gripping her wrist gently.

She noticed none too soon that his eyes were unfocused and hazy. The pupils had dilated and the eyeballs were shaking erratically, looking from right to left with shaky movements. Samuel's body seemed to be hanging by the hair Aspar was holding him by. He couldn't support himself. "What have you done to him?" Sophia snarled, standing up and unsheathing her sword.

Aspar grinned sadistically again. "We discovered his treachery in aiding your escape. He too will die. That is, of course, if you do not hand yourself over first." Aspar said. Ardu and Daniil by now were standing up and were watching Aspar. Ardu knew that this was necessary to get Sophia. Daniil was watching his brother silently. He knew his brother was capable of true cruelty, and he couldn't deny that he had seen this kind of cruelty in himself, too. But he did not stoop as low as to endanger the life of his other cousin.

Never in his life had Daniil felt as conflicted as now. He was a strong believer in the Calormene system, the hierarchy they had. Sophia had endangered that system; the particular custom that had been running for thousands of years. He had never really associated himself with Sophia. She was his cousin, and that was all he knew and, frankly, all he cared to know. But now, the tiniest humane part of him that had been buried by his envy for his brother's prowess rose within him and told him that their treatment of Sophia was wrong.

In his mind he knew that it was wrong for them to treat Sophia they way they were. It wasn't humane, and with the Narnian influence of how women were treated slowly spreading to other countries like Archenland and Ettismoor, Daniil had a feeling that Calormen was way overdue to change its ways. Change is never easy; his old professor had told him.

Unlike his bloodthirsty brother, Daniil preferred quiet reading time, delving deeper into written mysteries or countless volumes on Calormen and its surrounding countries. This did not mean he didn't appreciate battle either. He liked the dusty combination of sweat and blood that hung in the air. The rush of his blood mixed in with adrenaline and the sharpness of his sentences.

Daniil was a formidable warrior, but he preferred quiet over the clash and clang of swords. That brought him back to the situation at hand now. Samuel was his only other cousin. Born from a different mother; another sister to Ardu, he was as stark a contrast as could be. He was like Daniil, for her preferred quiet time, as well. But that was where the similarities ended.

Samuel was a soft-spoken boy, with a quiet sense of courage. He was boyish where Daniil and Aspar were men. He was the castle's stable boy, spending most of his time in the stables with his horse, and the horses of the lords. Aspar and Ardu did not like him. Even though he was family, the two men often acted like he wasn't. They treated him like a servant, not a royal. Daniil never really took notice of his other cousin.

But now, he knew he should have sooner. With Aspar looming over Samuel, and Ardu looking on appreciatively, Daniil knew he had to do something. Something to stop this madness. The problem that was holding him back was that he had no idea what to do and when to do it. All he could do was look, even though his heart was telling him to move, and to move _now. _

Sophia was still kneeling in front of Samuel. She was crying. Edmund's heart broke every time a tear leaked from her eyes. He wanted to go to her, but he was rooted to the spot. Sophia finally stood and moved backwards. "I will not go with you." She said defiantly, her voice catching on the last word. She gulped loudly. Edmund immediately stood next to her with his arm around her shoulders.

Aspar grinned again; his eyes blazing in the light. His expression was one of pure and intentional evil. Sophia was extremely unnerved by that look. "I see. But, I wasn't finished yet, dear cousin of mine," Aspar rasped, whilst moving his sword closer to Samuel's neck. Sophia's eyes widened. "You see, if you don't go with us, poor Samuel here will lose his life." Aspar finished.

Sophia narrowed her tear-stained eyes. "You wouldn't." She hissed. Aspar gave another manic grin. His eyes told her enough. He would. Sophia suddenly spurted forwards, with her hands at both of her sword hilts. Edmund was enough to catch her. He caught the back of her shirt and tugged her backwards. There was a rip in the fabric, but Sophia did stop in her tracks. Edmund managed to slip his hand into hers and give her another tug so she ended up in front of him.

Sophia's eyes were blazing with hatred. Edmund had to steel his face; otherwise he would surely cringe under her intense gaze. Sophia's eyes were leaking with tears. "He'll kill him!" She hissed. Edmund eyes were now laced with desperation. "Don't leave me, please..." Edmund whispered. Sophia's eyes were filled with inner turmoil. She knew that above all, she needed to save her cousin's life. But she also knew that she needed to stay with Edmund.

Aspar rolled his eyes. He was getting bored. "Cousin..." he said in a singsong voice, now resting the sword in Samuel's neck. Sophia whirled around and widened her eyes. She cried out in desperation and tried to tug herself free. "No!" Edmund cried, quickly followed by Peter and Caspian. The two men that had been watching on until now quickly jumped into action and grabbed Sophia's other flailing arm.

The harder she tried to tug herself free, the harder Peter, Caspian and Edmund tugged her back. Ardu was watching with an amused smile. Aspar's lips were menacingly curled and Daniil stood off to the side, trying desperately to find a solution to the situation. Susan had Lucy curled in her arms, and they were both looking away with tearing eyes.

"Too late." Aspar said, in that same, teasing, and singsong voice of his. Sophia stopped struggling. Aspar had the sword raised above Samuel's head. His eyes were now manic. Completely mad. The grip on Sophia went lax. She burst forward. "No!" The sword dropped. Lucy screamed.

* * *

**Whew. What a chapter. Let me have a bit of a breather first. **

**Okay. So, thoughts? This chapter was a bit more Edmund/Sophia centric, but I'm sure you can understand why. This was a really hard chapte to write, because of its massive length. This was at least 4,500 words long. There was so much to be said in this chapter, but I'm fairly sure I've said it all. ****What do you think? **

**Chapter question: What do you think of Daniil's character? Noble or foolish? **

**Let me know of your thoughts on this chapter, I'd love to know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_The sword dropped. _

And landed mere millimetres away from Samuel's neck. Lucy let out a massive breath of relief, but she didn't move. Aspar looked up and grinned at Sophia. In Sophia's burst of speed she had landed on the ground. On her knees. Where she belonged. Aspar smiled down on her, before slapping her hard across the cheek. One of the rings on his hand snagged and left a trail of blood in its wake. Sophia's head snapped back. The smile had left Aspar's face when she looked back up.

It was without any remorse in his eyes when he spoke. Instead, his eyes cooled even more. "Take her away." He ordered, and a set of Calormene guards broke from their ranks to pick her up. Sophia was crying now, and thick tears rolled from her eyes. Partially from the pain and partially because she had been deceived. She turned to face Edmund, and in between her tears she managed to get out a few words. "I'm so sorry, Edmund," She sobbed. Edmund met her eyes, and the desperation and pain within them was clear to see. "I love you," She whispered, before she was ripped away. She doubted that Edmund had heard her.

Edmund was held back by his family. He was struggling greatly. A red haze had descended in front of his eyes and he couldn't focus on anything except for trying to hurt Aspar as much as he possibly could. Aspar had hurt what he loved most. And now he was going to pay. "Let me go!" Edmund shouted. "I have to get to her!" He yelled, bucking wildly again. "I love her," He whispered, before going lax.

Susan met Caspian's eyes and shook her head. "We have to get out of here." She whispered. Caspian nodded, and grasped Edmund's wrists. To his complete surprise, Edmund didn't pull away. Instead, he allowed himself to be lead away. His eyes were listless and empty. The pupils had dilated and were brimming with tears. Edmund was in a world of pain.

His heart and his body hurt without ceasing. If this was any of what Susan must have felt when Caspian left her, Edmund felt even worse for his sister and the suffering she had faced. But that didn't change the fact that he was hurting now. The guards that had stood around the entire ordeal finally moved to give way and walked back to camp with their shocked and saddened rulers.

The loss of Sophia had impacted them all greatly. It was without a doubt that it affected Edmund the most. He wasn't saying a word. Instead his unfocused eyes were regarding everything with scrutiny. Caspian could practically see the plan Edmund was inevitably brewing inside his mind to free Sophia again.

When they arrived back at camp, they noted that the wall of soldiers noticed Sophia was gone, and it was dampening their moods. But the rulers felt exactly the same as the soldiers, and whatever they said wouldn't make sense or correspond with what the soldiers had inevitably been watching. Nevertheless, low spirits would not be good for the general morale of the army, and going into a battle with sour moods was as good as signing a death sentence.

So, the approaching Narnian royalty sent smiles every way, trying desperately to improve the situation even when they knew they couldn't. The soldiers returned their forced smiles, and the entire group of rulers let out a collective sigh of relief.

They immediately flocked to the military strategy tent that had been set up. Once they entered, all but Edmund sat down on a bench. Edmund remained standing, but rather, he began pacing. Walk to the wall, turn. Walk to the wall, turn. Walk to the wall, turn. He repeated this process over and over. Muttering to himself, and being completely oblivious to his co-rulers on the bench beside him.

"Ed!" Peter yelled, "Cut it out, you're going to wear a trench into the ground if you keep that up!" His voice was stressed and filled with tension. Edmund took one look at Peter, and then resumed his pacing. Peter let out an exasperated sigh. There was a moment of silence, before Edmund began to speak.

"We can't leave her with them. We need to find a way to get her back." He said, leaving no room for deliberation or argument. Lucy nodded fiercely. Edmund gave his sister a soft smile, the first he had given ever since Sophia had been taken away. Then he turned around, and walked over to the strategy table. There. Perched on the corner was the stack of notes Sophia had written almost a week ago.

Edmund sifted through the stack of notes before he triumphantly pulled one out. It was double-sided and almost every surface was covered in scribbles. Calormene war customs, more specifically. Edmund's eyes raked over the piece of parchment before he saw something that did two things. One; his heart stopped in fear and two; a bloom of hope blossomed in his heart.

"I've got it!" he yelled, jumping a foot in the air. Susan and Caspian, who had been sitting close together, sharing their thoughts on what happened and reassuring each other looked up. Susan had been fiddling with her engagement ring, talking fervently with Caspian on what had just happened. She had been given an insight into a cruel and remorseless enemy that Caspian would have liked to avoid.

In this moment, it seemed to him that only his words and his voice could calm the rampant thoughts in Susan's head. Soon Caspian had both of his arms cast around her shoulders, with his lips pressed to her temple. Susan was breathing deeply, on the edge of hyperventilating. But it was working. Soon, her breathing calmed and she leant further into Caspian. He whispered hushed words into her ear that calmed her down even more. By the time Edmund had shouted out his euphoria, Susan was able to think rationally again.

"What is it, what have you found?" Lucy asked, jumping up and running to Edmund's side. Edmund showed her the piece of parchment. "Notes you made her write, Peter. This one's about Calormene customs. War customs, more specifically." Edmund said, walking over and giving Peter the piece of paper. Peter's eyes scanned the piece of paper, before Edmund snatched it back.

"Well, what does it say?" Caspian said impatiently. Edmund scanned it again before pressing his finger to one sentence. "Here: 'Like the Telmarines, when a Calormene royal is challenged to a duel, be it for land, riches or people, he cannot refuse, except if he was the challenger. It is seen as a weakness for the Calormene monarchy.'" Edmund paused.

"'The duel must always be held one day after the letter had been sent. For example, if one were to challenge another to a duel, the duel would be held the next day.'" Edmund said, with his fingers following the scribbled lines down the page.

Immediately, during the explanation, Peter had grabbed a piece of parchment, and with an elegant quill was scribbling things down. When Caspian tried to look over his shoulder to see what, Peter turned away.

"I'm not finished," Edmund said, drawing the attention back to him. "It says, 'In such duel, the challenger will make the bid for the price, whereas the challenged will set the rest of the rules for the duel. The challenged will decide whether the duel is to the death or to the surrender. The duel will always be one on one. Even with this, the king will never fight in such a duel. Instead, he will choose a man to fight for him. This way, the ruler of Calormen is never put into harm's way intentionally.'" Edmund said.

"'Additionally, only three of the King's chosen highest will accompany him to the duel, including the king himself. There will be the king, one page, the chosen tribute and one guard. The challenger must bring the same amount of people.'" Edmund finished. He looked up from the page and met his siblings' eyes. "We have our work cut out for us." Peter said, before standing up and showing Edmund the letter he had drafted.

Caspian frowned. "You say that, but are we really? I mean, who will fight for Sophia?" he asked. Edmund stood straighter. "I will." He said, sounding determined to do so. One look in Edmund's eyes was enough. Caspian could see that Edmund would not budge. "Ed, you can't! What if we lose you?" Lucy shouted, taking her brother's hand and shaking it hard. Edmund looked down at her. "If anyone is to fight for her, I will be the one to do it!" he said resolutely. Lucy's eyes narrowed in pain and she turned away.

"It's alright, Lu," Susan said. Lucy looked back at her older sister. "Edmund was, and still is, the best swordsman in all of Narnia. He knows where his boundaries lie. He will be fine." She said supportively, sounding nothing but completely resolved and sure of her own words. Edmund gave his sister a grateful nod, before returning his eyes back to Peter's draft.

Edmund's eyes glinted with unshed tears as he read the letter. Peter was one step ahead of him. He met his brother's eyes and inclined his head gratefully. Peter cracked a rare smile, before leaving the tent with the letter in hand, intending to finish it on a proper writing table. Edmund looked over at his family. "Peter has drafted the letter. I suggest you take a rest. Tomorrow will be a trying day, and I want, no, need, all of you to be at your tops." Edmund said, sounding every bit the king that he was.

Susan, Lucy and Caspian nodded. Like Edmund had told them to, they filed out. Susan, though, halted at the exit. "What about you, Ed?" She asked softly and caringly. Edmund looked her in the eyes and shook his head. "I-I just need to be alone for a while." He said. Susan nodded understandingly and left the tent, closing the flap behind her.

When the tent was finally empty, Edmund collapsed on the bench. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his head hang. With a shuddery sigh, he began to sob. First, softly, then becoming louder as his grief and hurt flowed back into him. The conversation with his siblings had been distracting until now, but as they left Edmund was left with the hurt again.

He felt his heart being tugged in two different directions. One wanted to jump up and go straight into the Calormen camp with blazing torches and swords, demanding she be returned to him. Edmund knew that that course of action would be downright suicidal. The other part knew they needed to wait. But Edmund hated waiting.

Slowly, he took something out of his pocket. His fist was tightly clenched. When he unclenched his fist, he crushed the small piece of ripped fabric he had held to his nose and took a deep sniff. There. Amidst the smell of dust was the small fragment, the tiniest hint of pine. It was the last leftover of Sophia that Edmund had. He breathed in deeply the scent of dust and pine, the perfect combination to make up Sophia's scent. It was unique, just like her.

He clutching the torn piece of her shirt in his hands and stared down at it. _Tomorrow you will be free again, _he whispered. _I will never let you go._

* * *

Sophia felt like she was in Hell herself. She was being dragged along the ground by her arms. She had lost the will to hold herself up. Every time she did she would be facing Aspar, and his wild eyes. Two sets of guards were walking along side of her, whilst two others were dragging her along.

After crossing the hill that separated the now set-up camp of the Calormen army from the Narnians, Sophia had stopped fighting. Her eyes had followed Edmund the entire way as she was taken away, and as he was taken away by his siblings.

She felt like the separation was slowly tearing her apart. Every step away from Edmund was another tear in her heart muscle. She would eventually be left bleeding and torn in half on the ground. That was, if Aspar and his guards didn't get to her first. She let out an involuntary shiver.

Her mind was running rampant. Her thoughts weren't making sense, and they were rushing around her head like the Cair Paravel City markets on a busy day. Imaginations of what Aspar and her father would do to her were no longer good enough. Those imaginations were well on their way of becoming reality.

She was dragged to a cell block that had been set up. Two sets of bamboo crates were joined together with rope and standing on a horse-drawn carriage. The horse was elsewhere, whereas Sophia could make out another figure in one of the crates. The other was meant for her.

Aspar stopped the men dragging her when they were in front of the carriage. He threw her to the ground and spat on her, before lashing out with a crude kick that landed in her stomach. Sophia doubled over in the dust, curling into the foetal position and dry-heaving. Aspar took another kick, this one hitting her in the arm. Sophia bit her lip so she didn't cry out in pain, and soon a metallic liquid filled her mouth.

Aspar growled. "We will make you sorry. We will make you beg for mercy and death when we are through with you. You think you know pain, but we will make you long for something as sweet as pain!" He snarled, lashing out again. This time with his fist, he punched her in the soft spot below her ribs. Sophia gave a loud moan of pain.

Aspar grinned manically. "Men, have your way with her. Nothing of the carnal kind. That will be saved for when she is returned home. Ardu's orders." He said, snapping at the guards around him. He kicked her once more in the stomach, and Sophia swore she could see red dots in front of her closed eyelids. This time, though, she cried out in pain.

Aspar gave her a malicious smile and made a gesture with his hand. "Have your way, Princess." He snarled, before stalking away. Sophia looked up weakly at the guards, before closing her eyes. The onslaught began. She felt boots, ring-clad fingers and fists bombard her on every angle. Whatever way she tried to cave in to protect her soft spots, that way would be blocked off by more fists and boots.

She was in absolute, white-hot agony. Every blow was felt, and every blow in the same spot set her alight with fire and fury and pain. Aspar's words thundered in her head, but they began to fade away. Just like her pain. She felt them connect, she could see then connect with her body, but they didn't hurt. Her body had become too brittle and too bruised to feel anything anymore. She just couldn't feel them.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness when she felt vaguely aware that the blows had stopped. Instead, she felt a warm trickle drip out of the corner of her mouth. It was thick, pasty, and crimson red. Sophia could have sworn that this was important, this trickle. _But she wanted to sleep so bad... _

She closed her eyelids, and closed her mouth. The trickle stopped. She could feel herself being tossed into the cage, and the door was shut. A shadow loomed over her and whispered things in such a frantic yet subdued manner that Sophia in her near-unconscious state couldn't understand. She closed her eyes and wished for unconsciousness to take her.

It didn't.

Instead, Sophia lay what felt like hours (And truly they were) on the bottom of the bamboo cage perched on the line of conscious and unconsciousness. With every minute, the pain that had fled when she was beaten returned to her already broken body. Each minute hurt more. It was like being cut apart with pain-staking care and slow ease.

Around the same time Sophia's senses returned to her. First she was faintly aware of the shadow that had loomed over her was now cradling her. It seemed the two cages didn't have a wall in the middle afterwards. It was one big cell. The hands were soft and definitely female. No male she knew had hands as soft as these. Not even Samuel's hand were this soft.

Her brain tried to jab at Edmund's hands, ones she had held through pure times of despair and when she needed him most. She couldn't bear thinking about him again. It would reduce her to tears. She shook her head wildly when the tears had already started to leak. However much she needed him now, he wasn't here.

It brought her attention back to the figure cradling her. As she opened her eyes, still blurred from being closed so long, she took in a person; a girl, who looked not two years older than herself. She had brown hair and soft peridot eyes. As her hearing set in, she began to faintly hear the sniffling sounds the girl was emitting. In a flash, it struck her who this girl was. "Alena?" Sophia croaked, jolting at the sound of her broken voice.

Alena jolted simultaneously with Sophia, regarding the girl with weary eyes. Sophia saw the glint of a tear in the fading sunlight of the day in the corner of Alena's eye. Alena looked down on her and gave a grim smile. "It is I." She said. Sophia breathed a sigh partly of relief and partly of pain as more of her weight rested on her bruised ribs.

"Why are you here?" Sophia probed gently at her own ribs, before rolling over onto her side with a pained groan. Alena looked away for a moment. Sophia's long time friend looked even more lost in her thoughts and musings than ever. Sophia had a suspecting feeling that it had to do with her entrapment in the cage.

Alena shook her head slowly and softly. "I was caught," She whispered. Sophia moved herself closer until her arms gave way and groaned in pain again. Alena cast a worried eye over her friend's body. "Sophia, you're hurt. I'm not going to..."

"Just tell me, Alena. I can deal with a little pain." Sophia snapped.

Alena froze and looked at her friend, before sighing resolutely. "I went against the Calormen law. You know that short stay I had over in Narnia, to practise good relations with them?" Alena asked her. Sophia nodded. She remembered clearly the day the left, exactly two and a half months ago.

Alena gave a nod. "The visit was supposed to last for four weeks, Sophia. But four weeks went by and I didn't want to leave." Alena confessed. Sophia frowned. She had heard from multiple guards about the trouble-making daughter of a lord close to her father. Alena didn't want to leave, she overheard. "Why?" She whispered ever so quietly, hoping not to disturb the serene look that her friend's face had taken on.

Alena gave a soft smile, which was soon replaced by stark desperation. "I fell in love, Sophia. I fell in love with High King Peter." Alena said, shutting her eyes tightly. In her face, Sophia recognised the kind of emotional pain that she could detect in herself when she thought of Edmund. The mere thought of him was enough to send shooting pain up her spine, followed by unsurpassable warmth that radiated from her toes to the top of her head.

Alena looked at her friend, and Sophia was surprised to see more tears glinting in the corners of her eyes. Sophia moved herself as much as she could without the searing pain shooting through her again. She cast her bruised and battered arms around Alena and held her. Alena responded by wrapping her arms around Sophia and crying into the shoulder Sophia offered to her.

To Sophia, it made astounding sense. Why Peter nowadays always walked around the castle with a huge smile on his face. Why even the biggest things worried him, but why he always bounced back. It was because he had someone to bounce back for. Why Peter was always there at important meetings and social events, yet managed to disappear before and after them.

Coupled with the feelings that Alena was probably feeling and watching the blissful expression on her face when she spoke of Peter made undeniable sense to Sophia. She recognised those feelings all too well. She understood. "I understand." She whispered. Alena looked her friend in the eyes and smiled. "Edmund?" She asked. Sophia gave a wan nod.

Alena smiled. After her confession, both girls were content enough to sit together in quiet reverence. After a while, after the sun had set, Sophia crawled away and lay in the corner of the cage, facing the bars. Her eyes were tightly closed so as not to lose the tears that had been building up.

She missed Edmund. She missed the familiar warmth by her side as he curled around her when they lay asleep together. She missed the simple quirks of his eyebrows and the corners of his lips. She missed the way he talked to her, be it short whispers or long conversations. She missed everything about him, and she wanted nothing more than to have him by her side.

So when she lay facing the bars, looking out into the now-night-sky she wondered if Edmund was thinking about her. So when she slowly started to fall asleep, comforted by the warmth she was making herself believe Edmund was emitting, she pretended he was holding her, and then sleep came easily.

* * *

Edmund was indeed thinking about her. He missed everything about her. The way she looked at him. The way she fit securely fit into his side like the puzzle piece that completed him. The complete and utter enigma that she was. The way her hand fit into his and how she trusted herself with him. In turn, he trusted her with his life.

Truth is known that Edmund himself was not a fan of physical contact. The White Witch had done enough to completely remove that aspect from his life. Aslan had given him comfort, but it hadn't been enough to restore what had been stolen. Then Sophia came along, and her tender touch and reliance that she had vested upon him were enough. Every second of every day he craved, no, needed her touch. It healed him like the comfort from his siblings never did.

He stood on an empty field out in front of the army's camp. He held a firework in his hand. He looked pensively down at it, before smiling softly. He stuck the wick of the flare in a small fire by his feet, before lobbing it high into the air. The flare caught fire and a bright green light was given off. Sophia had once told him when they were on their way back to the castle that her favourite colour was green. Edmund only hoped that she would get it.

The flare started to propel itself higher into the sky, and Edmund smiled. He watched it go, before turning around and making his way back to his tent. He slept that night with a pillow in between his arms, pretending endlessly that it was Sophia. But he didn't have to worry. She saw it, and when she did, that little bit of more hope wormed itself into her heart.

_Tomorrow,_ Edmund vowed, _tomorrow you will be free._

* * *

**There you have it, folks! Chapter 16. This one is pretty big, in my opinion. What do you think? Did you enjoy it? I sincerely hope so. The plot is coming along nicely, and next chapter will feature the duel. **

**The next chapter is already in the stage of being written, so it'll be up in a week, I think. **

**Chapter question; What were your thoughts on this chapter, and what do you foresee for the duel?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~SunsetWanderer**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Morning came too quickly, and too quietly. Peter, Edmund and Caspian were all up at once, and had gathered in front of the military tent. Edmund had fallen asleep on the bench in the tent, unwilling to go further than necessary to sleep. The scrap of Sophia's shirt was still held tightly in his hand, and Peter noticed that every now and then he would bring it up to nose and close his eyes, smelling the cloth.

The place of battle had been set. A cluster of boulders precisely in between the two armies was where the duel would be held. The duel was to the death, and Edmund would fight for Narnia. They did not yet know who would fight against him. The duel would be fought with single blades, both rapiers. Sophia was the prize to be won. The victor would gain both Sophia and the upper hand. The loser was to forfeit their army and surrender completely. It was a high wager, and one that both sides couldn't possibly lose.

Peter and Caspian did not know of Edmund's sudden strange attachment to the scrap of fabric that had only really appeared the day before. But they could decipher that it would have to do something with the people, or person, that he cared about. And that weren't a lot. Only the people closest to him knew what he had faced when under the White Witch's captivity, and even less had talked to Edmund about it.

Edmund was currently staring at the ground, tracing the faint embroidered lines on the small piece of ripped shirt in his hand. Unbeknownst to him, Peter and Caspian, he was following their line of thought. He was thinking about the first argument he had ever had with the person who owned the scrap of shirt he was holding.

"_You don't know what I've been through!" Edmund thundered, hurt beyond comprehension at what she had just thrown at him. She had asked nonchalantly what he had been through. She had shared her story, but not all of it, with him. When Edmund didn't answer, she had joked about him having a hard childhood. Before he knew it, it had turned into a full blown argument. _

"_You barely know what I've been through!" Sophia echoed his words, snarling them. _

"_I know what you've faced, but I ask you don't inquire about me!" Edmund retorted hotly, before whirling around and stalking away. His blood thrummed hotly through his veins. His ears were red with frustration. "Look, I'm trying to help you!" Sophia called after, running up to him and grabbing his arm. _

_Edmund reacted immediately, grabbing her arm and twisting it around behind her back in an excruciating arm-lock. "I don't need your help!" He snarled in her face. For a second, something alike to hurt flickered in Sophia's eyes, before she roughly pulled away. "Fine." She responded curtly, trying to inject as much venom in her voice as she could. She looked once over her shoulder, before jogging away, trying to put as much distance in between them. _

_Edmund watched her go. After a while, she returned to him and apologised. Edmund did the same. But now he would tell her what he had been through. Sophia had listened through the entire thing, and when he was finished, she was quiet. She never inquired about his past after that. _

Edmund snapped out of his reverie when Peter clapped him on the back. "Brother, are you alright?" He asked. Edmund met his brother's wise blue eyes and nodded. Caspian looked off into the distance. "The men of Calormen will arrive at the place of battle soon, Edmund. It is wise for us to start preparing now. Susan and Lucy will stay her and overlook the soldiers. But you, I and Peter need to prepare. Are you with us?" Caspian informed. Edmund met the king's eyes. "All the way." He replied.

The kings went inside the military strategy tent, where Edmund's battle armour was laid before him. Peter and Caspian helped him into it, all while under a spell of total quiet. Edmund's thoughts were unusually quiet. Normally, they would run rampant, fuelled by the adrenaline that had started to creep through his veins. But now, he stood with iron limbs. Not a muscle was slack.

His eyes were uncharacteristically cold and cruel. The brown pools had seemed to solidify into a cold, solid wall. Nothing dared to penetrate the sudden darkness that had settled in the depths of his eyes. Even Peter and Caspian did not address him directly. They knew he was extremely volatile and hanging together by a thread. The promise of Ardu's representative dead was satisfying.

When Edmund was dressed, Peter and Caspian dressed accordingly in matching, yet less protective armour. Caspian wore his red brigandine with a cream shirt underneath, whilst Peter wore a shirt of lightly joined chain-mail armour. With matching trousers, boots and swords, the three set off.

The soldiers in the camp watched them go with weary expressions. They stood up when the three marched past, saluted, and then joined the wall that was steadily forming on the front lines of the camp. The entire camp was silent. Not a single fire crackled, not a single bird chirped in song. All of the soldiers were quiet, not one making a sound. Susan and Lucy watched from the tower that had been hastily built.

Time seemed to be frozen in the cold air. Flags hung limp. Limbs were frozen as only eyes watched on. No one moved, and no one made a sound. The entire area had befallen under a spell of quiet, of unusual cold and seemingly frozen time.

The morning was unusually frosty. They all knew it would warm up during the day, but for now the breaths that left their mouths condensed and formed a white cloud in the cool air. The two queens watched with racing hearts and hastened prayers. They couldn't be with the men when the duel commenced, but they both hoped insurmountably that Edmund would return in one piece.

Edmund arrived at the cluster of rocks. Calormen was already there. Ardu sat upon his throne watching the three men approach, whilst Aspar was being prepared by Daniil. It seemed that today Aspar would fight for Calormen. Edmund swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat and pushed his heart back down to where it belonged. For the first time that day, he felt nervous.

His eyes swept the arena for anything that would come to his advantage. The boulders would provide cover and leverage when he needed to jump up or evade blows. His eyes continued to rake the area, doing a full 360 degree turn before coming to a stop in front of a cage.

A girl was in it. She was slumped against the back wall. Her head hung limp and her hands were knitted together. Her wrists were held together by a piece of cleverly knotted rope.

Her body was riddled and covered every visible inch by purple and yellow bruises that peppered her body. A series of cuts covered her face and her neck. The scratches and cuts continued down her exposed arms and legs. Her clothing was torn and doused in red splotches.

Sophia.

Edmund's heart clenched in anger, frustration and fear. Anger at Aspar, and at himself for leaving her to this fate, frustration because he didn't get to her earlier, and fear for Sophia's life. The nerves returned, and he whirled around. Tears had formed in the corners of his hard eyes, and he blinked them furiously away. He couldn't deal with emotion now. Not when he was so close to destroying Aspar. Edmund set himself up at the Narnian end of the arena. He unsheathed his sword and watched as the sunlight glinted off the sharpened blade.

Aspar watched him cruelly, with a menacing smirk curling at the corners of his lips. He stepped away from Daniil and walked into the space. He unsheathed his rapier and held it level with Edmund's head. Edmund turned and put on his helmet. His nervous thoughts had settled and his eyes had grown even colder. Ardu stood. "Write this down, scribe," He ordered a young Calormen boy that stood by his side. The boy nodded and hurriedly grabbed his ledger and his pen.

"Today, on the first day of November, I, Ardu of Calormen, together with High king Peter of Narnia stand by and testify that the duel between Aspar of Calormen and King Edmund of Narnia shall be held thusly. The fight is to the death, and the victor gains the wagered prize and the loser shall surrender his army. Those who hear me, testify." Ardu boomed, before Peter replied with an 'Aye' and Ardu followed his lead, muttering an 'Aye' to settle the conditions.

Edmund flipped the visor of his helmet over his eyes and waited for Aspar to do the same. Caspian moved off to the side with Peter beside him. Ardu gave a satisfied nod and met Aspar's eyes. "Begin." He ordered. Edmund inhaled deeply the cold autumn air and gripped the hilt of his sword. He closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds. It began.

With a loud roar, Aspar pounced. He used a large flat-lying boulder at his feet for leverage, throwing himself at Edmund with a savage down-wards swipe of his sword. Edmund immediately parried the blow and evaded Aspar's next fluid move to the right, where the man's fist would have struck his temple. Aspar's shield lay forgotten on the boulder. Edmund had no doubt he would use it to play dirty later.

Edmund immediately responded by slashing in a diagonal line downwards, the tip brushing precariously close to Aspar's head. Aspar shoved Edmund's sword aside with his own and again struck out, this time with a studded boot that landed in the hollow of Edmund's knee. Caspian and Peter gasped. They never saw coming that Edmund would be reduced to the ground so easily and quickly. Edmund crumpled, and narrowly missed the next swipe of Aspar's sword that landed next to his neck.

Aspar howled in a mad fit of laughter and swiped again. Edmund rolled away yet again, but this time used the opportunity to swipe Aspar's feet away from under him. Now the tables had turned. Edmund stood whilst Aspar regained his balance. Edmund shield crashed into Aspar's side and the man responded with a loud grunt of pain and effort to keep upright.

Aspar rotated his body so Edmund's next swipe barely clipped his side, near his ribs. Aspar parried and quickly sprinted away, reappearing on a boulder above Edmund's head. Edmund immediately knew why. He was forced to look into the sun, and would have to move if he wanted to see properly otherwise.

Aspar leaped from the big rock and slashed crudely downwards, where his sword and Edmund's met with a loud and resounding clang. Edmund responded immediately by siding his sword out of the lock Aspar had created and slashing horizontally across his body to meet Aspar's sword yet again. Aspar twisted his sword out of Edmund's lock and used his fist to punch Edmund in the jaw.

Edmund's head snapped back and he was momentarily stunned. Aspar thrust his sword into Edmund's chest, where thankfully the protective armour caused it to bounce off. The sword bounced back and Edmund recovered, using his own sword to deliver a strong hit to Aspar's sword. The two blades met again and another clang resounded.

Aspar stumbled back and Edmund used to opportunity to deliver a series of strong and fast hits against the Calormen man which he managed to feebly parry or evade. Aspar was steadily growing wearier, Edmund noticed. In a pure spur of impulse Aspar twisted himself completely out of the way and twirled a full revolution, and metal met chain as his sword clipped Edmund's back. Edmund groaned in pain, before turning around and hitting the flat of his blade against Aspar's knee.

Aspar stumbled back and Edmund used the opportunity to sink his sword into Aspar's now unprotected left shin. Aspar cried out in pain, and managed to grab Edmund's neck. He smashed the butt of his sword into Edmund's nose, and blood flowed over the smaller man's lips. Edmund managed to put distance between them by smashing his shield into Aspar's belly. Aspar gave another groan and doubled over. Edmund responded with a swift kick in the head.

Aspar managed to stagger away before Edmund's knee hit him. He immediately dealt another blow with his sword to Edmund's exposed knee. Edmund yelled in pain as he felt the cold metal of Aspar sword pierce his skin. He twisted away, feeling more of the metal cut into his skin, and grasped Aspar's hair. He tilted the man's head and used his legs to vault from a boulder, into the air and finally flip Aspar over.

Edmund twisted Aspar's arm into an excruciating arm lock. Aspar heaved and bucked against Edmund's weight on his back. Edmund had twisted it so that Aspar would have to break his own arm free to get loose. Edmund stepped back when a sickening crunch resonated throughout the cluster of boulders. His nose still bled, as did the cut above his knee. He was in exponential agony. Aspar bled more than he did.

Aspar shouted in agony as his arm hung limply by his side. The wild, manic look in his eyes had been replaced by something far more dangerous. Pure, unadulterated rage and everything else. If looks could kill, Edmund would be a dripping puddle on the ground. Aspar looked positively furious, enough to kill him. The look in the man's eyes was enough to make anyone back off in fear. He looked ready to kill.

Edmund tore off his helmet and snarled openly at the advancing man. Aspar growled even louder before slashing out with his last working arm. The blow narrowly missed Edmund's neck as he ducked, before swiping savagely at Aspar's feet. In a flash, Edmund remembered one of his and Peter's spars on the morning of the day when Caspian's commemorative ball would be held. He had won that duel, and was about to imply the same tactic now.

Like expected, Aspar jumped over the swipe, and Edmund slashed his sword up, whilst Aspar swiped his down. The two swords met and Edmund immediately twisted the weapon away before Aspar had the chance to lock the two swords together. He immediately delivered a series of fast knocks and swiped to Aspar's sword, and the man stumbled back. Edmund was about to deliver the final blow when Aspar's limp arm swung out and scattered grains of dust in his eyes.

Edmund yelled loudly and swiped the sand away with his hand. Aspar grinned cruelly and thrust his sword under Edmund's chin. Edmund batted the feeble swipe aside and thrust his own sword into a purposeful lock. It would only unlock when one or the other pushed hard enough or yielded. But both wouldn't yield.

Aspar pressed himself closer to Edmund so their eyes met. Edmund groaned in effort and winced in pain. Aspar had since long removed his helmet when Edmund had done. Not once in the duel had he used his shield. Aspar opened his mouth with a mischievous and arrogant smirk. "When I kill you, I will take her slowly, intimately and in every way she hates. When you are on your deathbed you will watch us. And when you die so will she. Does that satisfy your fantasies, princeling?!" He whispered slowly, the smirk never leaving his face.

Edmund let out a roar and pushed harder. "I'll not let you near her." He retorted hotly. Aspar eyes filled with madness once more, and he pushed roughly against Edmund. Edmund stumbled back and Aspar's sword slid out of the lock. Edmund watched in resignation as Aspar's sword flung out, and hit him squarely in the head. The flat of Aspar's blade hit his head and Edmund crumpled.

The next moment, Aspar threw his sword aside and hollered, "RETREAT!" before scampering away as fast as his injured, bruised and cut legs could allow him. Ardu Had already distanced himself from the arena, and as Aspar ran, Daniil took hold of his brother's legs and hoisted him over his shoulder. Together with a dozen of guards, the Calormene men disappeared.

The change of events was so sudden and so unforseen that Peter, Edmund and Caspian couldn't do anything but stare. Edmund was beyond puzzled. The blow that Aspar had dealt last was meant to stun, not kill. That meant that all of this had been planned. The Calormene men had left the arena so quickly that I had to have been planned.

Edmund had enough. Aspar wasn't dead yet, and the duel stated that he had to die. One of them had to die, and they were both still alive. Edmund got up and had already started sprinting after the retreating Calormenes. "Edmund!" Caspian called. Said king stopped dead in his tracks. "Leave them be, they're not worth it. We will kill them in due time." Caspian ordered. His voice was laced with a stern yet caring undertone.

Edmund turned around. His eyes had lost their hard setting and were now laced with despair. His eyes flickered from Caspian to Peter and finally to the cage in which Sophia was still held. His shoulders sagged. It was from the effort; both emotionally and mentally. During the entire battle Edmund had kept his mind devoid of any thought and emotion. It would shut him down when he couldn't afford to.

He made his way over to the cage and with brute force ripped open the top. His muscles quivered with effort and his body shook. Tears streamed hotly down his dirtied and bloodied cheeks. His hands and arms trembled as he picked up the folded and crumpled form of the Calormene princess. He let his head hang and rest on the top of hers, his tears melding with the dust, sweat and blood on his forehead as well as the dirt, blood and sweat on hers.

The slightest whiff of vanilla reduced him to even more tears. Then Caspian was there with his hand on one shoulder, and Peter with his hand on the other. "Brother," Caspian addressed, "We have to go. They will be upon us any second." He said, sounding every bit the diplomat, and trying so hard to bite back the immense tone of relief at having his brother back and alive.

Caspian and Edmund went through a lot of things together back when Edmund was in Narnia for the second time. The planned together, played chess together and fought together. If anything, they had become extremely close. There was no other man Edmund would rather have had in his corner save for Caspian. Caspian had truly become his other brother, and no brother wants to lose the other.

Edmund complied rather quickly, and Caspian was slightly unsettled to see the hard look return. The brown pools were slowly solidifying into a wall again. In this look Edmund looked remorseless. The perfect, cold and cruel killer.

Edmund walked out front, with Peter and Caspian trailing behind him. He walked with a limp in his step and a grimace painting his face. His injuries hurt more above everything else, but he persevered. Caspian and Peter knew of the nature of Edmund's injuries, and that above all he needed to heal. But neither had the courage and the heart to tell Edmund otherwise.

Edmund stomped into camp. The soldiers immediately snapped to attention, jumping to their feet and sheathing swords they had been inspecting or sharpening. Peter called out to Fenir. "Fenir, fly over to the Calormene army and tell me of their numbers. Everyone else, assemble and ready yourselves for battle!" Orders came swiftly from the king's mouth, and the soldiers and Fenir complied without as much as a hassle.

"LUCY? WHERE'S YOUR CORDIAL?" Edmund thundered whilst he carried an unconscious Sophia deeper into the camp. There was a loud flap of a tent being exited and two forms ran out. Lucy already had her bottle of her healing cordial exposed and at the ready. The other was Susan, who without a word smashed herself into Caspian's chest, holding onto him tightly.

Caspian immediately bent down and quieted Susan's qualms with a kiss. Susan pulled away after a short while, exposing her furrowed brows to Caspian. Caspian bent down again and answered all of her fevered questions, effectively calming the rabid thoughts in her head and cooling the nervous flush of her skin.

Susan clung onto Caspian like a drowning man would to a rock amidst the rapids. Caspian held her tightly against him, taking comfort in the close proximity and the short space between their bodies. Susan's fears poured out of her as she rambled away. Caspian listened patiently, unable to think how close they had gotten to losing Edmund.

The king in question was already in the healing tent, kneeling next to Sophia. Lucy had already dropped a drop of her cordial into Sophia's mouth, and placed a cloth soaked in cool water on her forehead. Edmund watched in fear and part-admiration as he saw the bruises lose their colour and revert to the normal colour of her skin. He watched as the shallow cuts on her face, arms and legs knitted together and formed smooth skin again, and in some cases of deep cuts into scars.

Lucy stood off to the side, her eyes wide with apprehension and somewhat fear. She didn't know how to communicate with him when he was in this state. She had seen the walls in front of his eyes and had backed off immediately. Her brother was beyond volatile. One misplaced comment and she would find herself on the ground with a sword poised at her throat. She knew he wouldn't kill her, but it didn't stop the fear worming its way down her throat.

Edmund closed his eyes and listened out for the steady beat of her heart and her breathing. It was there, solid and sure, and enough for Edmund's head to rest on her belly in relief. "Edmund?" The soft croaking of her voice snapped his head up and his eyes met hers. In one second, the walls dropped away and the soft pools of brown returned.

Edmund opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. In the end he resolved to let his relief show through actions, and not words. He leaned down on her and supported himself on one elbow by her side whilst she leant up. Edmund's left arm encircled her waist as he held her to him. Sophia pressed her face into his shoulder and closed her eyes. Her arms slid around Edmund's neck and she sighed.

Lucy suddenly ushered all of the other healers out of the tent, following behind. The two needed privacy right now. Sophia slowly relinquished her hold on Edmund and leant back the tiniest bit. Edmund looked into her eyes and gently nuzzled the hollow of her throat. Sophia bit back a broken giggle of laughter as his nose tickled her skin.

"I can't believe you got me back," She whispered into his ear. Edmund leaned back and gave her a smile, the first he had really given since her abduction. He leant down and slowly, hesitantly, pressed his lips to hers. Sophia's eyes were wide open with fear as she felt Edmund's lips on her own. The sensation was completely unfamiliar to her, yet she couldn't help but feel more relaxed the more his lips moved against hers. Soon, her eyes were closed, and she did nothing but feel.

Edmund pulled away and gave a gentle smile. Sophia mirrored him, before leaning up again and gently pecking a kiss against his lips. The feeling was alien, but one she could definitely live with. Edmund's smile widened and he once again pulled her up to him so as to press his face into her shoulder. Sophia did the same, and soaked up the warmth and love the gesture was emitting.

The war would follow. That was inevitable. But for now, there was peace.

* * *

**Whew. What about that? How's that for a fight scene? This chapter was simply amazing to write. I enjoyed every single bit of that fight scene, and I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it. The war is only one chapter away, the one after next. T****he next is already written and is scheduled to go up next week tuesday, wednesday or thursday. If you're willing to get it published faster, bump up that review count!**

**I want to give a huge thanks to All For Jesus, Harry Potter and Narnia 4 EVER, SpectrumLight and NightTides, who review this story on a regular basis. You guys are amazing and I want to thank you all immensely for the massive amount of support and inspiration you guys give me. **

**So, until next time, happy reading and I'll see you all soon!**

**~SunsetWanderer**

**Chapter Question; What did you think of my enterpretation of the duel scene between Edmund and Aspar? Did you enjoy reading it? Tell me more!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The short moment of peace between Edmund and Sophia soon passed. Edmund, under Lucy's pressure also drank a drop of her cordial, and watched in the same type of fascination as his wounds healed with abnormal speed. Sophia had refused to leave his side ever since they left the tent.

When they stepped out the camp was abuzz with activity. Fenir had returned to Peter with dire news. "They outnumber us, sir. Three to one." Fenir had said. Peter had paled. "Numbers don't win a battle." He had growled out, to which Caspian craftily replied, "But they sure help." Peter shot Caspian a glare.

Sophia immediately pushed her way past soldiers that swarmed over to her until she stood by Peter's side. "Peter," She gripped his shoulders harshly. Peter's eyes flitted to hers. "Alena is alive." Sophia said, and watched in fascination as Peter stiffened beneath her hands. His muscles took up slack until he stood rigid. Peter cursed under his breath and turned to face the dust cloud that was steadily rising on the horizon.

Sophia turned away from him when Edmund suddenly tugged sharply at her wrist and sent her sprawling in his direction. His arms caught her, safe and secure. Sophia pressed her face in his shoulder whilst Edmund's nose nuzzled the nape of her neck. She smiled into his skin. "Sophia, are you sure you are ready for battle? You seem weary to me. You must sleep if that is what you require." Edmund asked, his brown orbs seemingly drowned in desperation.

Sophia's face fell. "Edmund, stop worrying for me. I am fine. I need to fight this with you, beside you. Aspar has hurt what I love and he has to be dealt with accordingly." She said sternly, before cradling the domes of his shoulders in her hands and gently shaking him. Her eyes bored into his. "Don't try to persuade me. Please." She said, shaking her head. She stood firm on this one. She would fight, whether he wanted to or not.

Both warriors had changed into clothing that wasn't bloodied or torn. They had changed into lighter armour designed for battle with maximum movement and protection. Edmund had changed into armour made of plates of mail, with the legs fully armoured but the arms protected by a layer of chain mail. A proud lion was depicted on the front of his chest plate.

Sophia, on the other hand had changed into leather and mail-plated armour. The leather was soft and supple and moved with her body, creating the perfect type of armour for her. She would move fast. Taking down three men at a time before the ones around them knew what was happening. Her hair was strung up in a ponytail, and both Harbringer and her rapier were sheathed by her side. Today she would double wield them.

Edmund's arms encircled her waist, drawing her closer. "Sophia." He whispered. The girl in question looked up. Brown clashed with multiple colours as their eyes met. "For the love of Aslan, and the gods above, do not be a hero today." Edmund instructed carefully. Sophia nodded supportively. "Please. I can't lose you. Not yet." He whispered, pressing his face into the crook of her shoulder.

Over in another corner, one couple had taken a different approach. The moment Susan had crashed into Caspian's chest his arms had encircled her and he had held her. Similarly to when they had said goodbye, Caspian's arms were drawn tightly across Susan's waist whilst Susan's were wound securely and needily around the broad area of his shoulders.

Caspian leant back, and with slightly shaking fingers cupped her chin and brought her face closer until their lips touched. Susan covered his hands with her own and kissed him back. Caspian finally pulled away and leant his forehead against hers. His eyes were filled with a strange kind of desperation she didn't like to see.

Caspian pressed his lips to hers again, needing to feel it. His fingers traced the contours of her face, every one of them, as if trying to remember every inch of her face beneath his fingers. Susan gripped his face tightly and screwed her eyes shut. She pulled away. Caspian's eyes were fevered, glazed over with worry and nerves. "Caspian," She inquired, squeezing his jaw gently.

Caspian gasped softly when he saw the worry radiate from his Susan's eyes. He hated to see her worried, nervous or, Aslan forbid, hurt. Brown clashed with blue when he looked her in the eyes again. "Susan, don't make any rash decisions, love. I need you. I cannot afford to lose you today. Promise me that you'll do everything to stay alive, understand?" He demanded, hands slipping from her shoulder to her wrists that he grasped tightly.

Susan gave a nod, wincing slightly from the pressure on her wrists. Caspian immediately released them after that. Susan started to say something before Caspian cut her off. "Promise me." He demanded fervently. Susan's eyes met his and her hands pressed into his shoulders. "I promise." She whispered back.

It came without a doubt that she would do everything to stay by Caspian's side. A war with Calormen couldn't possibly drive a wedge in between them, be it physically or emotionally. Susan would do everything to stay alive; just as he wished. She couldn't bear thinking about going a day without his familiar warmth by her side. She just about worried herself sick for Edmund when he went off on his duel, but for Caspian she would surely intensify that worry tenfold.

Caspian kissed her again, and Susan moaned into it. It was warm and fevered and desperate, but she didn't care. She responded with equal fervour, and before she knew it she was pressed into a trunk of a tree, with Caspian's hands supporting him on either side of her and her own hands terribly tangled in his hair. He pulled away, pleased to see her lips slightly swollen and the skin of her collarbone lightly dusted with a red hue.

Susan slipped away from under him with a smile and he followed her back into the midst of the soldiers. Many were ready; standing on the front lines with spears, swords, axes, lances and flags. Others were still rushing about, but it was somehow organised rushing. No soldier was panicked. Everything was executed in perfect order. The four rulers (sans Lucy) and Sophia re-grouped at the front lines, together with Asterius, Glenstorm and his wife, Trumpkin, and Caspian's personal guard Myria, the cheetah.

Susan and Trumpkin's first objective was to lead their expanse of archers across the and behind the clashing armies to an elevated hill where they were both shielded and had excellent view of the charging Calormene soldiers. They would take down as many with arrows as they could, before trying to shoot down as many Calormenes during the actual battle.

Edmund, Caspian, Peter and Sophia would charge into battle on horseback, leading the army together with Myria, Asterius and Glenstorm and his wife. They would fight among the infantry soldiers, together with soldiers from the cavalry. Fenir, the loyal falcon has been assigned a series of attack that would involve griffins, phoenixes and other flying animals that could take down soldiers.

The assault from the air was going to be the most crucial, because it was the one the Calormenes wouldn't see coming. The next step was for Fenir's birds, the phoenixes, mostly, to disengage every, if any war machines the Calormene army brought into the picture. Everything was meticulously planned and even with errors the plan would likely succeed. But it didn't change the fact that Narnia was outnumbered by Calormen.

Over the horizon, the rising dust cloud had given was to what seemed a thousand Calormene soldiers, charging on foot. The five looked at each other, each one meeting the others' eyes. Sophia was the first to give a grin, and for good reason. She felt the adrenaline course thickly through her veins. Exhilaration was pumped by her heart and travelled everywhere in her body, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. She gave Edmund's hand a comforting squeeze.

Caspian, in the meantime, had caught Susan's gaze with his own and refused to let go. Susan's eyes crinkled at the corners, and she mouthed the words 'I promise' to him. It only added to hasten the beating of his frantic heart, and like Sophia squeezed Susan's hand. "Stay safe," he whispered. Susan nodded and turned back to the horizon. In that moment, he saw Susan's warrior spirit released.

Peter sounded the call, yelling loudly for the charge to commence. A thousand beings behind Peter jumped into action and existence.

The war began.

* * *

**AAAAH! Cliffhanger! I know, I know. This chapter is a filler. I just really need a separate chapter for the the war. It just a big event, Y'know? **

**Now, a bit of a warning. As of now, I am being snowed under with schoolwork. I'm finding it really difficult to balance my writing with all of my schoolwork. As much as I love FanFiction, school work must always come first. **

**That said, the next update should be up in about a week, sohave enough time to draft the final chapters of By my law, by my hand, by my word. **

**All right, my fantabulous readers! Type in that little review box. It doesn't bite. Really XD**

**Stay sharp, floss and eat your breakfast! **

**~SunsetWanderer**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Time stood still. Susan watched in part fear and admiration as the world exploded with movement. One moment she could see the slowing down of time, as though it was a prelude to the chaos about to follow. She could see their adversaries charging down the hills ahead of them, an onslaught of men and silver blades.

The dust swirled around the advancing army's feet. The infantry's soldiers were charging ahead as Sophia had predicted they would. Their blades were exposed and pointed forward. The sunlight glinted off their blades and their armour. Their faces were hid by impressive helmets, but clunky and unhandy. The helmets seemed to be made of solid metal, with only three narrow slits for the eyes and mouth. The dust inside would get trapped, and the sunlight would cause the helmets to heat up really quickly.

Over the hill, Susan could see more soldiers charging, these on horseback. Her eyes shifted from face to face, to find them all hidden behind the same helmets. This all happened in a matter of milliseconds. When the world exploded into action again Susan was the first to react. She spun around to seek out Trumpkin's eyes. "Let's go!" She screamed, but the sound of her voice was lost over the clamour of Narnia's army springing into the battle.

Over the clamour, she could hear Peter, Caspian, Sophia and Edmund shouting the loud battle-cry; "For Narnia!"

Susan and Trumpkin's assembled group of archers gave nods and shouts of allegiance and followed behind their commanders. The group was eighty strong, more than enough to take down the Calormenes. _We have to be fast, _Susan thought fervently. _If we miss our cue there's no telling what will happen. _

Trumpkin and Susan charged up the side of the hill, taking care to lead their archers well clear of the battle. Susan could only hear her feet thudding on the earth combined with the steady thrum of the blood in her ears. Trumpkin ran alongside her, with their troop of archers following closely on their heels. They reached the hill quickly. The archers set up in a wide line, overlooking the valley in which the armies would clash.

Susan's keen eyes quickly discerned Caspian running on the forefront of the Narnians. Her heart clenched and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach with worry. She couldn't live with herself if Caspian was killed today. The heartache would drive her to her own end. She truly believed that if it happened she would willingly throw herself onto a sword to be reunited with him again. Her siblings would barely recover, but Susan could not live with the notion that she might have to continue living without Caspian by her side.

"Archers, set your aim!" She shouted loudly. Beside her, Trumpkin notched an arrow to the string, and Susan did the same. She aimed at the steadily progressing wave of Calormene soldiers. "Fire at will!" She shouted, and released her arrow. Eighty arrows sprung from eighty strings. The arrows sailed through the air with a piercing whistle, and struck. Simultaneously, eighty men collapsed; Dead.

All of the archers were firing at will now, and Susan didn't relinquish the tight grip she had vested on her bow. The bow was hers, but the arrows she used were dwarf made and crafted especially for this battle. Susan fired arrow after arrow, taking up a frantic routine. Notch, pull, breathe; fire. Repeat. Notch, pull, breathe; fire. Repeat.

The result was an ever growing volley of arrows as each archer suddenly fired two arrows a minute, steadily climbing up to three. The archers had planned to take plenty of arrows with them. The dwarves had made hundreds upon hundreds of arrows for the battle, and the troop of eighty archers was well on their way of using them all.

More Calormene soldiers fell to their feet in death. Susan was beyond proud of what her archers had achieved. They had already taken down at least a hundred Calormene infantry soldiers. More arrows whistled through the air and again a whole volley of men collapsed. The archers' aim was impeccable, hitting the Calormene soldiers in the soft spots in between their chain-mail and their helmets. The pride Susan had for her archers intensified tenfold.

A sudden scramble off in front of her caught her eye. A small troop of Calormene soldiers had broken ranks and were running towards them. Susan's pulse picked up and she changed aim, aiming for the steadily approaching troop of soldiers. They seemed determined to take them down. "Archers, aim below you!" She shouted, and watched as the archers around her changed their aim and shot countless arrows at the men that were charging.

Man after man crumpled, arrows sticking out of their bodies. It made them look vaguely like porcupines. Susan watched as yet another troop broke ranks and headed towards them. They were determined to take the archers down. Susan was puzzled. The armies had clashed already. Why deliberately break ranks to meet the archers when they needed manpower on the ground?

Obviously they motive was to take down the threats from above. They wouldn't succeed. The process repeated itself as Susan's archers took the men down. Another troop was launched and again the process was repeated. It was futile. Susan's archers would take them down every time. Soon, though, the archers reverted their aims back to the surging mass of Calormene and Narnian men in the bowl of the valley.

A grin stretched itself across her face and her serious eyes gained their sparkle again. She began to enjoy herself. Hope surged in her heart as she relayed arrow after arrow, and watched her targets crumple. Maybe they could win this, maybe. They still had a chance.

* * *

On the ground it was manic. Everything was movement and sound. Caspian found his senses being assaulted on all sides with sound and feeling. He ran ahead of the troop, Destrier's hooves thundering on the ground. His sword was gripped tightly in his right hand as he charged with Edmund and Peter on either side of him. Sophia trailed behind them on foot.

The rhythmic thudding together with the cries of the infantry men behind him combined to form a symphony only for war. Caspian lowered the visor of his helmet as each step brought them closer to the Calormene army. He watched with admiration as every now and them men from the Calormene side dropped to the ground; dead.

He once raised his eyes to look at the elevated hill above the bowl of the valley there the two armies clashed. This was where Susan and her archers stood, safe from any blades that might come their way, but gifted with the perfect view of the Calormene army. Battle was an ugly affair and Caspian didn't want Susan getting hurt. Not when she was so close to becoming his wife.

He had watched with admiration and growing pride as she shouted orders around their small troop before firing arrow after arrow herself. The warrior queen within her had been released prior and had taken over. She was the perfect tactician, the best archer in all of Narnia and surrounding lands. Today her skills would be the perfect testimony that Narnia was not to be messed with.

Caspian turned back just in time to see the armies clash. The roar that had been building up behind Caspian exploded even ore when he struck down the first Calormene soldier that came running up to him, striking out with his sword. Caspian was quick to slit the man's throat, all the while urging Destrier onwards.

He continued his path as he struck men down left and right, pivoting in his saddle to ensure Destrier's safety. He wanted to protect his trusted horse. Destrier had seen many battles and had been Caspian's sole companion when he fled Miraz' castle. To lose Destrier now would prove to be too much to Caspian. They had simply been through too much together.

Caspian saw and approaching man with an outstretched sword out of the corner of his eye, and he pivoted in the saddle so quickly everything seemed a blur. Caspian struck out as he sped past, satisfied to hear the man's shout of pain. A haze seemed to have descended on his brain and nothing could control him, not even himself. He had turned into a cruel and remorseless killer. He sped on.

When he looked around, he was amazed to see the path he had already made. Where he had pulled through the ranks of the Calormene soldiers was now a perfect line of dead men, being trampled by the men that rose in their places. Caspian turned Destrier around and threw himself back into the fray.

Left and right men were falling to the ground of fighting with clashing swords, axes and knives. Caspian turned his gaze back towards the hills, where even more Calormene soldiers were streaming in. With a grunt he struck a man down and urged Destrier onwards. Nothing resounded through his head harder than the urge to fight.

He continued, with Destrier's hooves thudding and pounding the earth. His eyes scanned the battlefield. What he saw chilled him to the core. More and more Calormene soldiers were streaming into the bowl of the valley. It was becoming more and more apparent that Fenir hadn't over thought the mass of Calormen's army.

Caspian spotted the figure of a lone archer, perched on top of an immense boulder and sniping the Narnian army below him. The immediate threat of danger to Susan and her troop of archers hit Caspian square in the face. He growled and dug his knees into Destrier's side. The horse steamed up the hill and Caspian, in one nimble movement leaped off.

The archer spun around and fired an arrow in Caspian's direction. The king dodged and the arrow barely missed him. Caspian struck out with his sword in the direction of the archer's heart, but the man managed to parry the blow with the bow itself. Caspian tried again, thrusting the blade this time into the archer's unprotected calf.

The blade struck home and the man crumpled. Caspian loomed over him, but not before the archer dealt him a solid blow in the side, making the king lose his balance and dance precariously close to the edge of the boulder, and close to a ten metre drop to the ground. Caspian regained his balance and leaped over the archer's swipe with the bow.

The archer spun around and lashed out with an arrow, narrowly missing the hollow of Caspian's unguarded knee. Caspian kicked out with his boot and hit the archer's hand. The arrow flew out of it and was closely followed by another well-aimed kick, this time wrenching the bow from the archer's grasp. One final shove was enough to send the archer sliding over the side of the boulder and fall to his death. The man's screams were lost in the rest of the fray.

Caspian watched the man fall before turning around and leaping down from the boulder. He hoisted himself onto Destrier's back and the two took off and back into the clash to resume their charge. It wasn't long before Caspian spotted another sniper. They were immaculately positioned around the bowl of the valley, sniping in. Caspian gave a low growl and turned Destrier. He would take them down individually. They were dangerous and would be taken down accordingly.

* * *

Sophia, against better judgement did not fight on Iskios. She fought on foot, charging ahead with the infantry beside her. She knew that she would probably pay for the choice later. Truth be told she didn't want to fight on her horse's back. It was a bad choice. She couldn't possibly ride wielding two blades at once.

Now, carrying on foot, she wielded Harbringer in her left hand, with the deadly curve pointing downwards and her rapier with the blades facing up in the other. Her feet carried her light mass across many legions of soldiers, and never once did she stop her charge.

When the armies clashed everything became a vast explosion of sound, feeling and movement. The sudden increase in stimuli, and the vast volume of it all caused Sophia's senses to shut down in the tiniest of fractions. Everything blurred and quieted down in volume. Sophia didn't mind it in the least. Sense wise, it made for more peaceful fighting.

In truth everything was hell. Soldiers dropped left and right, courtesy of her whirling blades. Other men tried their hand at her but failed miserably. They had fallen to mortal wounds in their torsos, legs and arms. Sophia never stayed at a target for long. She always aspired to be done with the man as soon as possible. She didn't want to linger longer than necessary. In that respect, she dealt quick deaths.

Sophia knew she shouldn't be enjoying this. She knew she shouldn't revel in the dying screams of the Calormene soldier she was attacking. But she did. She loved every minute of the chaos that unfolded around her, courtesy of her flashing and whirling blades. She was invincible in this moment, and in the ones to follow. She felt on top of the world.

Every scream, every gasp and every thrum of a heart onto her blade caused a haze, redder and redder with each fatal strike to descend further over Sophia's eyes. Blood thirst was en emotion not entirely unknown to her. When in training when she was young she had been known to fall under small bouts of the emotion. It swallowed her whole every time and left her nothing short of the perfect remorseless killer.

She was without regrets when she fought. She never thoughts about the men she killed. It would leave one bereft of energy, energy that she desperately needed to keep herself alive. Thinking about those she killed would only serve to draw her deeper into a pit of self-loathing.

She never thought about the men. Whether they had fiancées, or wives, or children to go back to. Whether their family would mourn when the discovered that their men were killed in battle, by none other than that princess that had run away from them. When she fought they were just shells that she took down. They were dummies that she trained on. Bereft of feeling, of emotion and of life.

She took down man after man, vaulting over their heads and sticking her swords into their unprotected backs. Harbringer flashed like none other. Blood coated the blades thickly but she never stopped. She tripped the men over, before beheading them with one crude swipe. By the time their comrades had seen their friend fall she had moved on, quickly and quietly dealing the death strike to the surrounding men.

Her aim was immaculate. Never once did she miss her target, or mistime a strike. Everything was planned to perfection. Never once did she overbalance herself and lose the secure footing beneath her. Paired with her sword were the occasional strike of her fists and boots. Every now she would strike a man down with a heavy hit to the temple. In some instances she snapped a man's neck in her hands.

The sickening crunches, screams and yells reverberated around her. She took no notice of them. Like Edmund, her eyes had gone colourless. They were stale. Absolutely no emotion was betrayed in the cold depths. Like Edmund she no longer cared. She had shut down completely. The only that could draw her back into the world of the feeling and the living would be Edmund. It was him. It had always been him.

But for now, the only thing driving her onwards was the promise of Ardu's army dead, of returning to Edmund, and keep hacking her path through the ranks of the enemy.

* * *

Edmund, the man in question was battling onwards head of Sophia, too, on foot. He had opted to ride Philip, and had in start ridden his horse. But the poor old war-horse wasn't good enough. The horse had given up after a short bout of running and hacking and slashing at the enemies under their feet. His simple wasn't up for the task.

Edmund himself grieved slightly for the poor horse. Philip had been his companion through many battles, including the battle against Telmar with Caspian. Memories allowed themselves to flow back into what Edmund considered to be a closed mind, and they played in front of his eyes. Shoving them rudely away together with any other emotion that might have surfaced, he continued his restless assault against Calormen.

It had to be of coincidence that this war held an uncanny likeness with that one. In both instances, then and now, Narnia had been hilariously outnumbered. Another likeness was that the attacking army had a personal connection to one of them; the one being Sophia. Yet another likeness was that these men; these adversaries fought, looked and sounded like the Telmarines.

Almost as if history repeated itself, Edmund reminisced. The opposing army had played dirty; by taking Sophia from them and hurting the way they had. A duel had been fought and won by the bare bones. But the duel remained unanswered and unfinished. Edmund had not yet seen Aspar in and through the men of Calormen.

Edmund had thought to no end when he was with Sophia, even though he tried desperately to keep his thought on her, and only her, about how Aspar and his guards, including the king, had fled after the duel. It had to be planned. The sudden move was simply too expertly manoeuvred, too effortlessly executed for it to be a spur of the moment move.

Edmund had been frightened of the haze that had descended over his brain then. He had been positively livid, ready to kill Aspar at a moment's notice, and without any sort of self-derision or judgement. Aspar had hurt what was his, fought him like a man and then decided to run away like a coward. Edmund was more than ready to kill him now.

Shaking those thoughts free, he vaulted over a man and quickly stuck him in the back, a move he had learned from Sophia on one of the mornings when they trained together. If anything, he had learned that she was a formidable opponent, and one to be truly wary of. She was beyond quick and lithe; agile on her feet. She was the perfect hunter.

Edmund's eyes raked over the landscape and he spotted the form of his brother, struggling with another troop of eight Calormene soldiers that had him surrounded. Edmund's eyes widened and he sprinted off, taking a running leap off of a sticking boulder and jumping highly into the air. He uttered a loud battle cry and landed in the circle, next to his brother.

Peter glanced around and smiled behind his helmet he saw Edmund. "Brother," He said, gratefully. Edmund replied with a curt nod and was quick to spin around and parry the incoming blow of a soldier in front of him. Edmund immediately reacted by twisting the soldier's sword out of his grasp with a strong swipe, unlocking the clumsy lock.

In the next instant, the man was dead. The death of their comrade spread unease across the circle of Calormene men. But before they got the chance to turn and run or attack Peter and Edmund had already descended on them and were steadily working their way through the circle, attacking and killing each soldier individually.

Edmund looked up in the short of moment of peace that lingered afterwards, and what he saw made his vision swim in red once more. Aspar stood overlooking the scene on the edge of the valley. His sword was unsheathed and his eyes stared a hole into Edmund's. Edmund snarled. Aspar turned away. Edmund struggled to hold himself in. The only thing that served to comfort him in the slightest was the sight of Aspar's arm in a sling, and the man covered in bandages.

Peter saw it too. He met his younger brother's eyes. "Go after him." Peter instructed. Edmund's eyes sparkled in blood thirst. He nodded grimly, not bothering to hide the sadistic smile that caused the corners of his lips to curl. Peter turned away and jogged away. Edmund looked after him, before wiping away some blood that had collected on his bottom lip. His own or another's, Edmund didn't know. Nor did he care. The only thing that he concentrated on now was the man that had disappeared over the side of valley bowl moments ago.

He started a steady climb up the hill. He would have Aspar's blood, one way or another. And nothing would stop him this time.

* * *

Ardu, Aspar and Daniil watched the fray unfold beneath them. They watched with weary eyes as the two armies met and clashed, forming quite the din. The rumble of their men's feet resounded through the earth. The roars of battle cries that left their mouths formed a steady and growing chorus of voices that showed their absolute fury and readiness for battle.

Ardu watched with satisfied eyes as he saw Narnia fall before him. The great country was failing, slipping slowly away. They truly couldn't match the prowess that Ardu's army emitted. They fought bravely for the time being, but in the end it would all fail. Ardu still had many infantry men waiting on the front line, waiting on his signal to descend the slopes of the valley to battle the Narnians and replace their fallen comrades.

Ardu still had his secret weapons, and he, Aspar and Daniil were yet to mingle themselves among the army-men and fight with them to the very last. Ardu was glad. In front of his eyes, he saw fauns, centaurs; Narnians and Talking Animals fall beneath the might of his men. Narnians dropped left and right to the blades of the Calormenes. Blood coloured the green valley grass red. The sun beat down on them and the clouds were non-existent.

Aspar appeared beside him. Ardu smiled gladly. "Nephew, go over the edge and tell me what you see." He instructed, motioning for the edge of the plateau where his army was camped and where it descended into the valley. Aspar did as he was asked, and looked over the edge. What he saw chilled him to the bone.

Edmund Pevensie, the Just King of Narnia was staring right at him. The brown orbs of his eyes seemed starkly lack as Aspar gazed into them. He was standing a fair few hundred metres in the depths of the valley, surrounded by fighting soldiers, Narnian and Calormene. Aspar steeled his gaze and subconsciously shifted his broken arm in his sling.

He whirled around and gave his uncle a smirk. "Narnia is falling, Uncle. But so are ours. We need more troops." Aspar said. Ardu smiled grimly. "Then let her fall even more. Do you see the likeness between this battle and a well-played game of chess, Aspar?" He said, before turning around and motioning for the next and final wave of infantry men to travel into the valley. Aspar frowned.

"No, uncle. What do you speak of?" He asked. Ardu smiled. A sadistic gleam entered his eye, one that Aspar recognised in him whenever he looked into the mirror. "The pawns always go first." He said, and walked over to the edge. Aspar joined him. When he saw what his uncle implied, it made astounding sense.

The last wave of infantry men were ones less trained than the ones that had gone before them. Ardu meant to sacrifice the Calormene infantry men to tire the Narnians. And Aspar understood. Narnia stood tall. This last wave would be slaughtered. Ardu gave another motion with his hand, and his secret weapons were released. The tables would turn now.

* * *

Edmund looked over to the top of the valley. A rumbling wave had risen again, and he saw another wave of infantry men. The rumbling noise was the combined sound of their feet and the roars from their throats. He groaned. _There were more. _ But amidst the surge of men he saw spindly structures; skeletons of wood. War machines. Edmund gave another groan. _It definitely wasn't over yet._

* * *

**_Hi my fabulous readers! _**

**How did you enjoy that? I really, really, REALLY enjoyed writing that chapter! The war is such a significant event that I wanted everyone's points of view on how they fought, and what they were thinking during the entire ordeal. That said, it was also a mother of a thing to type out. I hadn't planned half of it, so that needed to be done first.. Sigh. **

**Nevertheless, enough about me! The next chapter will be up in a week, so look out for the next update! The story is almost drawing to a close, sadly, but until then I'll continue to write, won't I? **

**You guys rule, I'm in serious love with you all, and let's get that review count over a 100! **

**~SunsetWanderer**

**Chapter Question: What did you think of my portrayal of the battle? Did I do a good job? Let me know!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Edmund wasn't the first one to see the massive war-machines rise above the charging infantry men. He willing threw himself amidst the fray of thundering soldiers, taking down the closest men around him with his sword. But his eyes never left the looming structures. They positioned themselves around the valley, on top of the hills like the archers had done.

It wasn't long before the first machine had launched a round, spherical boulder of rock into the air. It landed with a dull thud and an explosion of earth around it. Edmund watched with widened eyes and an expression of worry and fear as another boulder was launched; landing precariously close to a small group of Narnian soldiers.

Edmund staggered back as a large hunk of rock struck the space beneath his feet. "Whoa…" He murmured. His eyes scanned the soldiers. The men looked around uncertainly, but some bravely managed to move their feet, dodge nimbly in between the falling rocks and continue to fight the enemy. Edmund commended them all for it. He knew already that a fair few men were going to be knighted after all of this.

The entire battle had not entirely been without the occurrence of injury. Edmund currently had a long trail of blood welling up out of a wound on the underside of his chin. The skin around it stung with a biting pain. He had a fantastic set of blue-black bruises along his sides where the butts and pommels of swords and battle-axes had slammed into the skin. He was limping slightly on his right foot; where he had landed awkwardly after leaping from a boulder.

His eyes swept over the landscape once more as the fighting between the Narnia and Calormen infantries continued. Horsemen from the Calormene sides had joined them and were taken on well by Narnia's soldiers. Edmund searched fervently for the golden glint of Sophia's hair, but he could not find her. A pang of worry bloomed in Edmund's belly, but he shook it out.

Aspar's assassination would have to wait. Edmund knew he would get his revenge sooner or later. Something had to be done about these catapults. Narnia did not possess such war-machines themselves. Instead, they had a vast legion of griffins, phoenixes, and other air-borne animals that could pose quite the challenge for the Calormene army. _Fenir_. With a shout, Edmund turned around and sprinted like a mad man back towards the front line of Narnia's camp.

Fenir's birds were waiting patiently for him when he finally arrived. Fenir had collected a large number of griffins; forty or so. Together with the phoenixes and his own species of hawk and falcon, Fenir had a large number of birds backing him up and following his orders. Their orders were to attack from the sky; to attack both the Calormene war-machines and the Calormene soldiers; on foot and horseback. There were only twenty of them, but Edmund had no idea whether there were more waiting behind the hills.

"Fenir!" Edmund yelled, running into the camp. The falcon reared up and bowed in a manner only falcons could. "Yes, my liege?" He answered, flying up so Edmund could see him. The king breathed a sigh of relief. "Time for the air-assault." He ordered. Fenir nodded and flew off. Edmund watched as all of the birds leaped into the sky and formed a vast, black cloud.

The aim was to take down the war-machines first. 5 griffins would carry five archers across the sky, scoping and sniping from above. The other griffins would carry boulders were much like the ones the catapults were hurling in their paws and drop them on the clusters of Calormene soldiers. The phoenixes' direct approach was to set the war-machines alight with their flaming wings. As for the hawks and the falcons; they would strike from the air.

Edmund watched in silent fascination as the immense mass of the flapping wings and shrieking calls swept across the sky, before dive-bombing the soldiers below. As instructed, five griffins broke ranks and collected their archers. Susan was one of them. Her griffin's paws fit securely around her as she was suspended below it. Her bow had been strung and she let her arrows fly.

The first phoenix was fired. The black bird streamed like a stripe through the air, before bursting spontaneously into fire. The black bird turned into a sudden accumulation of red, orange, yellow and fiery white. The blur of colours streaked across the blue sky. Edmund and a number of Narnian soldiers watched as the bird circled the bowl of the valley once before taking a sudden dive and smashing into a catapult. The oil-slick wood combusted. Edmund gave a loud whoop before ordering to fire another.

Another streak of fiery colours shot across the dome of the sky and imploded on contact with the wood of another war-machine. Edmund gave Fenir a shout of pride and intense happiness as the wooden structures already struck began to smoke and smoulder. He himself turned and made his way from the frontline of the camp and back into the battle. Aspar stood high on his hill, overlooking everything. Edmund had deemed it high time for the man to fall, and for Calormen to surrender.

* * *

Peter had fought many battles in his time in Narnia. From the war with the White Witch, to the battles he had fought in the Golden Age, to the war against Telmar, and finally this final stand against Calormen. But as he found his blades whirling in a multitude of silvers and binding glint of sunlight, a sense of fulfilment washed over him.

Because for all of this, after spending countless years alone, Peter had finally found someone to fight his battles for. Alena managed to play on his thoughts constantly. She always managed to fill one nook or cranny, whether it be the forefront or the back corners of his mind.

For her, he was grateful. Her smile always to bring one to his own face, no matter his surroundings. Now, amidst the bleeding, swearing and swearing bodies of the Calormene soldiers he took down Peter saw to it that he were to live. He could not lose himself to the icy grip of death. Not now, when he was so close to seeing her again.

Alena had been on a tour to practise good relations with Narnia when she met Peter. It had not been love at first sight, but Peter had been interested in her. As they spent more time together, they fell in love. Peter could not have been happier at the end of her tour, when she refused her father's will and swore not to leave.

The boundary between their countries and the difference of their customs thrust a wedge in between them. Even if Narnia were to have good connections with Calormen, Alena's father, a wealthy lord, wouldn't marry her off to Peter; simply because he didn't like Narnia, nor Peter. That was why Peter fought. He fought for both of them, so the wedge may be removed and so they could finally be together without being wrested apart.

Peter had his way through the vast legions of soldiers, and was horrified that there were still men coming. There truly seemed to be no end to the vast mass and number of the Calormene army. All of the men looked the same; armed with the same flawed armour, the same imposing yet unhandy helmets and the sharp, curved blades that Caspian had predicted they would carry.

Peter found himself steadily falling into a rhythm when he took down man after man. With every kill he zeroed in on the flawed spots where the armour was weaker, such as knee hollows and necks. He beheaded men, rendered them unconscious and killed them cleanly with a stab through the heart. Peter found himself wondering if an end was ever going to come near.

But the distraction came in the form of Sophia. The small, lithe appeared by his side, dragging Caspian along. With a quick, clean movement, she had all of the men around Peter, ones that were closing in on him killed. "Peter." She said curtly, shifting her position and fighting back-to-back with him. "I have seen Aspar, Daniil and Father on the hill above us. It's time to take them down." She said. Peter met her eyes and could have cringed at the sheer determination of her gaze.

He nodded. Sophia retorted his nod, before looking at Caspian. The man was looking out over the clashing men. "The phoenixes will continue to take down the catapults. Our men will fight the Calormenes on the ground. Once the Commanders are dead, I expect the entire army to surrender." He said. Sophia and Peter simultaneously looked up and into the sunlight, tracing the curves of the hill.

Aspar's lone figure stood out starkly against the sky. Sophia's eyes rose to the top of the hill, and her eyes widened. Edmund climbed up against the hill, knocking down Calormene soldiers as he went. A sharp pang of fear and potential for panic shot through Sophia's body. She stiffened, before shooting a wild look in Peter's direction.

"He's going to kill himself!" She cried, before scrambling off. She sheathed both of her swords and took off. It was a dangerous manoeuver to run without both of her blades unsheathed and at the ready. But she was going for speed, not to kill the soldiers. Her aim was to reach Edmund before Aspar did.

Sophia vaulted over the heads of the soldiers, nimbly missing blades that swished towards her and jumping over the dead bodies that littered the ground. Narnian or Calormene, she couldn't tell with her speed. Everything seemed a blur at the moment. The only thing that seemed constant at this moment was Edmund's rising form. He was over the hill when she reached him.

"Edmund!" She shouted loudly, and momentarily he lost his composure. He whirled around and his hardened eyes softened at the sight of her. She was alive. Not wholly uninjured, he noticed with a scowl, but alive. She bled out of multiple small cuts on her face whilst bruises peppered her arms. Edmund mentally kicked himself for not looking after her when they had been fighting.

Those self-pitying and degrading thoughts vanished however when Sophia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Edmund wrapped his sword-armed hand around her waist and held her. She quivered in relief when Edmund pulled back and gently kissed her. Edmund laid his head in the crook of her neck whilst her hands traced the metal of his arms; happy that he was unharmed. Well, as unharmed as one could be after fighting a war.

"Take your hands off of her, mutt!" Aspar's loud voice travelled over the landscape as he emerged and materialised behind the two. Edmund immediately pulled away and pulled Sophia behind him in a protective manner. Sophia rolled her eyes and moved from her position to stand beside him. Her right hand found Harbringer's sheath and she pulled the blade out.

It gleamed in the sunlight, stained red with blood. Calormene blood. Aspar scowled as he noticed the way Edmund leaned towards her in the slightest; ready to jump in front of her if need be. Right at that moment, Caspian and Peter appeared over the hill. At the same moment the griffin carrying Susan dropped her gingerly on the ground of the hill where the others were standing. The formidable animal gave a bow to its monarchs before taking off and flying away.

"Together again, at last." Ardu's mocking voice sounded, and he appeared next to Aspar. Daniil stood quietly behind him. Sophia's eyes scrutinized them closely, scowling more heavily as she went down the line. Daniil to Ardu, and from Ardu to Aspar. "Are you here to redeem yourself, Princeling?" Aspar called, carrying a mocking sneer on his face.

Edmund scowled and tightened the grip on the hilt of his sword. The knuckles turned white. "You fled our duel, Aspar. If anyone should redeem himself, it should be you. What were you thinking, running away like a coward? That you would truly live for longer? No, Aspar. Now your death will only be slower. You should have let yourself get killed. It would have been easier for all of us." Edmund said, his eyes blazing with fury and contempt.

Sophia's face paled at Edmund's words. For the first time she got an insight into what Edmund would do when driven to the absolute extremes. He would turn into a remorseless assassin; unable of feeling any types of emotion save for intense hatred.

Aspar, too, had paled a considerable amount. He had taken Edmund's words to heart. Plus, he knew how he had injured the king. To see those injuries healed, with no scar tissue, no physical mark to show it had actually been there in the first place chilled him to the bone. Aspar himself was still injured. His broken arm throbbed weakly in the sling the medics had fashioned for him. His cuts had not yet crusted over with scabs, and they still stung.

Sophia's eyes swivelled around to look at something in the distance. "Peter," She said, looking back over to him. The man straightened. "Alena." She said simply, and inclining her head in the direction of where she knew Alena's cage to be. _The cage that used to hold herself._ Peter nodded and his hand went to the hilt of his sword. His eyes swept over the landscape, and he walked off.

Ardu made a movement to stop him with soldiers, but Sophia interrupted him. "If you as much as move your mouth Peter will have every soldier you send dead within three minutes." She said coldly. Ardu's head snapped around to face hers and he closed his mouth. Sophia smirked. She had him under her thumb, and he knew it. Daniil watched on silently.

"We missed you, cousin." Aspar said, and made a movement towards her. Edmund stopped him with the point of his sword balanced in front of Aspar's heart. Sophia shifted her weight to her other foot and scowled. "Really, did you mourn?" She asked coldly. Aspar tried his best at a sympathetic face, but failed miserably. "We did. We all did. My uncle, your father…"

"**Your uncle.** He is not my father. Not anymore." Sophia bit back, interrupting him with a cold sneer. Aspar mirrored it. His eyes flitted from Sophia's to Edmund's, to Caspian and Susan's and finally the tip of the sword that was suspended in the air, inches away from piercing his unguarded heart. Sophia slowly inched her way forward, unsheathing her sword a little with every step. Aspar exploded.

"Enough! You are, all of you beneath me! I am the real prince, you dull creature! And I will not be bullied by a rebel as lowly as you!" Aspar yelled loudly, causing Sophia to stop in her tracks. Edmund stiffened and grabbed onto the back of Sophia's shirt, gently pulling her back to him. But Aspar wasn't finished.

"I swear I shall kill every single one of you when this is over. And you," He pointed at Edmund and Sophia with a mad gleam catching in his bloodshot eyes. "I take her slowly and forcefully when this is over. And I will force you to watch every godly second. And when I am finished with her, in her broken and battered state she will watch, unable to do anything but watch as I rip you apart; limb from limb." Aspar hissed sadistically, carrying the air of a mad man around him. His eyes shook erratically in his skull.

"Daniil!" He shouted, whipping his head around to look at his brother. The man himself stood very still. Slowly, he raised his eyes to look at Aspar. "No, brother." He said. Aspar frowned at his brother. "No? You dare reject the true prince?" He demanded. Daniil stepped forward and the light of the sun caught in his face. "No, brother. It is enough." He said again, moving from behind Aspar to stand next to Caspian.

The betrayal shone so cleanly in Aspar's eyes that he gave a mad laugh. "What is this? What has be gone the earth on this day? Daniil?! Get back here!" Aspar ordered. Daniil moved forward and unsheathed his sword. "Brother, this has to stop. Look around you. Calormen is falling. Edmund is right. The way you treat our cousin is not right. The way you ran from your duel yesterday was the epitome of cowardice. You should have faced yesterday. Now, it will only be more painful for you." Daniil said.

Aspar's eyes bulged. "What is this?" He called again to no one in particular. He looked around and met the eyes of his uncle. "Uncle?" He called weakly, but the king stood unnaturally still, eyes flitting in between every person present. He was taken by disbelief. But the one more taken than him was Sophia. Her face showcased a large frown. She did not understand. This wasn't planned; she could see it.

Something must have been brewing in Daniil's head for a long time. Sophia could only imagine what had transpired in her cousin's head. But she imagined it must have started from the time she ran away. Daniil was a changed man. He had been different from his brother by the time he was born. Aesthetics wise, he looked like a perfect twin to his brother. But on the inside, wisdom brewed where in Aspar vengeance and revenge bloomed.

Daniil continued. "Calormen's customs are to change, brother. Women are treated like filth. Do you not see it? The way women are supressed beneath the men like property? No, Aspar. I stand by your vision of a powerful Calormen no longer. I have mine own views, and they are starkly different from yours. I will fight for my opinion, and not yours. It is only pitiful that my opinions lie with Narnia, and not you. No more." Daniil said, before taking a sudden leap forward and sinking his sword into Aspar's unguarded thigh.

The stricken man let loose a bellowing roar of pain, and staggered back. Daniil looked up with a shocked expression, unable to comprehend what he had just done. He withdrew his sword and walked backwards, away from the scene. "You son of a whore." Aspar growled in pain, before crumpling to the ground.

Ardu made a motion to rush forward to catch his nephew, but he couldn't move. His limbs were frozen. Susan and Caspian watched on; horrified. Sophia and Edmund however, were quick to react. As Daniil staggered away, Sophia leapt up on Aspar and unsheathed Harbringer. Edmund followed up quickly, and grabbed a flailing arm. "Hold him down!" She ordered, and Edmund complied, quickly gathering Aspar's broken arm and the other and holding them together behind Aspar's back.

Aspar roared in pain and began to buck against their hands. His legs flailed out, as did his only working arm as he tried to get away from Sophia and Edmund. "Uncle!" he cried out in desperation, and his eyes searched frantically for the form of his uncle. But when Aspar saw his uncle, the man was kneeling with Caspian's sword in his neck. Ardu had submitted.

Aspar's eyes flitted away to now look at Sophia. The tension in between their gazes mounted. She struck out and punched him in the nose. Aspar's head snapped back. He growled out an expletive before Sophia tipped back his head. Aspar gave her a manic grin as the blood spilled over his lips. Contrary how Sophia thought he would feel; Aspar acted like the situation was exactly going the way he wanted it to.

Sophia had the huge urge to slap the smirk off of his smug face. Aspar's bloodshot eyes widened when Sophia brought Harbringer's cold metal to his neck. But not in fear, no, in glee. Aspar let a laugh that was laced with madness. "Is this how it'll be, cousin?" he called mockingly, and continued to strain against Edmund's arms.

Edmund strained heavily to keep the stronger man subdued beneath his hands. He shot Sophia a desperate look. Sophia caught it, and returned her gaze back to Aspar. The man's eyes met hers and he gave one last, bloodshot, blood-filled grin. "See you in hell, cousin." He hissed madly, before Harbringer's sharp tip pierced his heart. In one quick thrust, Sophia had killed Aspar.

When the man's body fell forward out of Edmund's arms, it collapsed face down. Sophia turned the body over with the tip of a boot. The man's eyes were closed, but the manic grin had not left his face. When Sophia raised her eyes again, Edmund could see a terribly haunted expression threatening to take over her cold demeanour. Sophia looked Ardu squarely in the face, but the king had turned away in disgust.

Disgust and desperation, she realised, when he looked back up to level his gaze with hers. Ardu pursed his lips, and Sophia realised he was going to say something. She was assured it would get him nowhere. Caspian had his sword poised at Ardu's throat with the metal digging into the skin. Yet, Ardu managed to shout his next words.

"Suicidium omnibus!" He shouted loudly, before Caspian dug the metal back into the man's throat. Sophia's eyes widened at hearing the savage command leave Ardu's mouth. The man gave her an evil, yet satisfied smirk. Sophia had known from the start where Aspar had gotten his behaviour from. The words he had just uttered caused the Calormene men behind them to jump into action.

The words; 'Suicidium omnibus' meant 'All sacrifice'. It meant that all of the men still alive were to deliberately charge into battle; where the ranks and chivalry didn't matter anymore. The command was for the men to charge into the battle and turn into a massive massacre. They would either win or die trying.

As commanded, the soldiers charged into the battle with a fearsome roar and their swords unsheathed. All of a sudden, the Narnian soldiers found themselves surrounded on all sides and terribly outmanned. The massacre started.

However valiantly the Narnians tried to fight off the Calormenes, they were hopelessly outgunned. They fell left and right, subject to the terrible curved blades that belonged to the Calormenes. Sophia, Edmund and Susan rushed to the hill to look into the valley. Susan pressed her hand to her mouth in absolute horror.

Men were slashing other men apart with swords. Some birds had fallen unlucky prey to the blades of the Calormene soldiers. Sophia's eyes flitted from soldier to soldier, hearing their anguished cries resonate louder and louder. Men were tearing others apart with their teeth, with their hands; with anything. The horror showed clearly on her face as she looked into the valley below her.

But, suddenly, the valley plunged into quiet. The screams were still there, they just seemed to die down in volume. A ray of golden sunshine shone down into the valley, and landed on top of a large boulder that overlooked the valley. The golden light around the large boulder intensified, and a figure stepped out of nowhere, and appeared on the boulder.

Aslan's golden mane looked even more alive with colour and splendour, Susan thought, as the Great Lion vested his heavy golden gaze on the massacre below him. An ear-splitting, resonating, and billowing roar from the beast's maw brought everything below him to a standstill. The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks. Their heads all swivelled around to admire the emitter of the fearsome roar.

"Enough!" The great lion bellowed, looking around the valley to see if there was anyone who dared to contradict him. His fearsome expression softened and turned into concern and fatigue. "Enough of this bloodshed!" He called, and his eyes roamed over the crowds of soldiers. Slowly, and one by one, the soldiers, both Narnian and Calormene, sheathed or dropped their swords in front of Aslan, or where they were standing.

Sophia looked over to Edmund, who she discovered was looking steadily at her already. His eyes told her enough. Once again his hand found hers, and he squeezed it. Together, they sheathed their swords, before Edmund enveloped her in a tight embrace. Sophia allowed a breath of immense relief to escape. It shuddered through her lungs, and Edmund gave a short laugh. He pulled back enough to see her eyes, and Sophia cracked a shaky smile.

It was over. Finally.

* * *

**So, ladies and gents, there you have it. The final part of the war, and finally, it ends. What a mother of a thing to write. It was about 9,000 words in total, and I am absolutely proud of myself. **

**What that leaves now, is the resolution to the war and Caspian and Susan's wedding! *Does a little fangirl bounce* I'm so excited for you guys to read it! Although, that does leave us with only two chapters before the epilogue. Nonetheless, let's get the review count above a 100! You're all amazing, and I respect you!**

**Read your novels and don't forget to floss!**

**~SunsetWanderer**

**Chapter question: Did you catch two little quotes from another movie in there? If so, what movie do they come from? (Spec, this one's for you!)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The resolution to a war is never easy. Sophia had not had enough experience with war to have a full understanding of what it entailed exactly, but she knew enough from what she saw now. The Calormene soldiers that had dropped their swords not ten minutes earlier were now being herded into one tight group of men; bereft of weapons.

Some tried to have their hand with a rebellion, but the attempts were silenced the moment the men got a glimpse of Aslan, strolling through the ranks with Caspian and Susan at his side. The three seemed to give off an aura of foreboding, or diplomacy and that they were not to be trifled with. All attempts at rebellion were not even thought about after that.

After the soldiers had dropped their weapons and surrendered, Peter had appeared at the site, with Alena holding on tightly to his arm. Peter looked slightly shaky and pale, but he had a wide smile on his face at having Alena back. She clutched his arm tightly, with her knuckles turned white. She also seemed to tremble on her feet. She couldn't stand straight, and her legs seemed like they couldn't bear her weight.

She leaned heavily against Peter, whilst the man himself seemed on cloud nine. Every now and then, he would whisper something in her ear, to which she would smile. He gallantly supported her as she trembled, even offering once or twice to carry her in his arms in absolute need be. Sophia watched their exchanges with a smile. To see her friend so at peace and happy made her feel the same.

Sophia walked over to Peter, hating herself for interrupting the moment between him and Alena. "Samuel?" She inquired. Peter shook his head ruefully. "I didn't see him. I hope he lives." He said. Sophia returned his words with a nod, before turning and walking to the edge of the valley, looking into the mass of soldiers.

"You ought to go to the camp. Lucy will give Alena some of her cordial." Sophia instructed, not looking at Peter and Alena but addressing him from where she stood, overlooking the soldiers that were gradually surrendering their weapons. Her mind was elsewhere.

Samuel. She hoped he was alive indeed. She wished her cousin had somehow escaped all of the fighting. He wasn't strong like the rest of his family. Samuel spent his time with the horses in the stables. He wasn't used to the brutal fatality of war and battle. Sophia hoped that among all of this he had found a way out alive.

Daniil materialised beside her. His eyes were weary and weathered. Sophia wondered why he had taken the course of action he had, deliberately standing up to Aspar and going against his older brother's visions for the future. In a sense, he had instigated the contact that killed Aspar. Sophia was grateful to him, if not a tad aware of any, if any, betrayal he would commit.

She turned around to face him. She frowned. "What have you done, Daniil?" She asked tiredly, her voice straining with fatigue. Daniil shook his head and looked away. "I do not know, cousin. I wasn't thinking when I acted. I only knew that Aspar was wrong, and had been wrong all along." He answered, straining against the tiredness that threatened to take him.

Edmund had been talking with Peter and Caspian, and spotted Sophia and Daniil talking together. His eyes narrowed, and he excused himself before walking over and taking Sophia's hand. She gave him a grateful smile. Together they turned to back to Daniil.

He smiled grimly. "What happens to me, once we get back?" He asked wearily. Sophia shook her head. "I don't know. Caspian hasn't told me." She replied. Daniil scoffed. "And he tells you everything, doesn't he?" He asked. Sophia stiffened beneath the hand Edmund had placed on her lower back. "Well, not everyth…"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Daniil thundered, before being stopped by the tip of Edmund's blade, poised at his throat. In a flash, at his eruption Edmund had pulled it out and held it in front of him, ready. Sophia had staggered back, and paled significantly. Edmund's eyes had gone cold with a weathered type of expectancy. Daniil leaned back.

"I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you would do." He explained, his tone softer. Edmund lowered his sword, but did not sheath it. Sophia's eyes became hard. "Did you know of the plot? What Aspar told me?" She asked coldly. Daniil's jaw set. "Yes, I had known. Ardu swore me to secrecy. Aspar broke that oath when he told you." He answered.

Edmund's face went cold. "What did it entail?" He asked. Daniil's eyes settled on Edmund. "Sophia was always Ardu's heir by birth. As she got older, Ardu and his wife tried many more times for a son. They only stopped after Garvin was born and his mother died in childbirth. Ardu wanted so desperately to have a son on the throne, instead of his daughter." He took a breath, and continued.

"So when his wife could bear him no more sons, Ardu brought forward a plan. He had seen how his daughter bore a love for battle and war. Ardu had her trained so she could become a war machine in service to him; completely susceptible to his will. But Sophia had a will of her own. She thought rebellious thoughts, and thus wasn't able to become Ardu's assassin."

"So, Ardu brought forward a plan. Now, he would break her will every few days at a time. I'm sure you know of this. But against all odds, Sophia endured. Her will stayed strong. Ardu discovered that perhaps this new method wouldn't work. So, he proposed a something new. Aspar would become his chosen successor, and Sophia would be terminated. She had already been allowed to live for too long. She was a nuisance and was to be killed. Before Ardu's men got the chance, however, she fled, and all of this began." Daniil finished.

Sophia sighed and turned away. Edmund squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Come on." He said curtly, and prodded Daniil's back with the tip of his sword. Daniil walked out in front of them as they made their way through the ranks of Calormene soldiers that had been created in front of the Narnian camp, where they could all be seen.

It was obvious that the Narnian monarchy didn't trust Daniil. Although they had been watching when he betrayed his brother and uncle, the action was so sudden and surprising that the Narnians wondered whether the same would happen to them. It was justifiable, really. Daniil could understand why they were acting in the way they were.

Susan and Caspian were already reunited. As the heat of the battle died down, with Aslan overlooking the surrender of the Calormene soldiers, they met again. They had been standing metres from each other when Daniil betrayed Aspar, but the intensity of the moment meant that they couldn't bear to look away.

Now, Susan turned ever so slowly, and released a pent up breath. She looked at Caspian as though through new eyes. He, too, had turned towards her. A tiny tear at seeing him unscathed fell from her eye and dripped onto her cheek.

The next second, she was running towards him, with her battle skirts swirling around her legs. Caspian had sheathed his sword and was running towards her. Like in a film they met in the middle. With a great deal of momentum Susan crashed into Caspian's chest and his arms moved of their own accord to clasp themselves around her waist.

Susan let out a merry laugh before Caspian leant down and quieted it with a kiss. Susan responded in a slow manner, not willing to take it further. She just needed to reassure herself that Caspian was holding her, and that he was relatively unscathed; but alive. Caspian saw her need and slowed the kiss down, until finally pulling away.

He looked down at her with sparkling eyes full of gentle love and happiness that she was entirely unhurt. Susan hadn't once been hurt. The rest of her archers were still alive, and no one was injured. It was a completely successful campaign in that respect. The silver that was laced in Susan's blue eyes shone with happiness and mirth.

Her hands roamed over Caspian's broad back, inspecting for any injuries that might have been there. Caspian moved away from her to clasp her hands in his, and he leant forward so that their foreheads met. "You are unhurt?" he asked. Susan nodded with a smile. Caspian mirrored it, and Susan's heart did a little flip.

"Are you?" She asked moments later, concern etched onto her face. Caspian's deep brown eyes flitted away. Susan frowned. She looked Caspian over, and was horrified to see a cut of moderate length on the upside of his shin. His boot would have stopped it, but the piece of footwear was shredded beyond recognition.

She kneeled down and inspected it. Her fingertips skimmed over the abused skin and Caspian hissed out in pain. Susan rose and her frown deepened. "You need to rest. You're beyond exhausted." She said. Caspian shook his head. "Not before you rest." He replied stubbornly. Susan rolled her eyes. Even when he was white from blood loss, he still persisted in her safety. If it wasn't terribly chivalrous, it was foolish.

She took his hand and squeezed it. Caspian responded with a chaste kiss on her forehead. He walked with a limp, so Susan cast her arm around his side and helped him lean on her, and together they walked down the hill before meeting Aslan halfway down. The golden lion exchanged few words with them as they strode in between the ranks of the Calormene soldiers.

Behind them, Sophia, Edmund and Daniil, and Peter and Alena walked down the hill in groups of three and two respectively until they reached the camp.

* * *

They arrived in the camp only ten minutes later. Sophia and Edmund brought Daniil to where Ardu was held by some soldiers that had come to collect him. They tied his hands behind his back and made him lean against a wooden post. It wasn't humane what they were doing, but it was the only precaution they could take to ensure that Daniil didn't betray them.

Contrary to Ardu, who was screaming expletives at his guards, and tried desperately time and time again to remove the rope binding his wrists by ripping and pulling at the post, Daniil sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Next to him Ardu was still muttering and calling, before turning on his nephew.

He threw every expletive he knew at his younger nephew, blaming him for the death of Aspar, for Calormen's surrender and defeat and other, terrible things. The guards were slow to intervene. Daniil had his eyes screwed shut, shutting the tears that had risen out. The guards tore a swearing Ardu away from his nephew. Daniil gave them a grateful look.

Peter and Edmund arrived shortly after, and conversed quietly with Daniil. Alena was not with Peter, and Sophia not with Edmund. Alena was sitting the healing tent, being administered to by Lucy's group of healers. She had not yet been given a drop of cordial, because her body was so distressed after the events and being cooped up in the cage without proper sanitation, food and water.

She would have to lie flat on her back for a small amount of time, before trying to stomach some food, and perhaps even drink. If her body became stable after it, she would receive a drop of cordial. It was a long process and not entirely without pain, but it was necessary.

Sophia was with Alena in the healing tent, resting from the battle. Her limbs were weary and her eyelids were drooping. Edmund, being the incredibly attentive (And somewhat annoying) man he was, had told her to rest up in the healing tent. Unable to argue further, she had complied.

To her complete joy, she had found Samuel already there, resting on a brancard with Lucy tending to his injuries. There were smiles passed between the two before Sophia came over to lie beside him. He had escaped the battle on one of the horses that belonged to a fallen man, running around the outskirts when everyone was fighting. He had sought out the healing tent. Aspar hadn't let him off easy.

He had a large bruise spreading over the surface of his right hand, after Aspar had stomped on it. He had a deep cut above his eyebrow that was healing rapidly, thanks to Lucy's cordial. Samuel just embraced her with happiness.

* * *

Back at the posts, Peter gave Daniil a questioning look. The man nodded, and stood up. He brushed the dust off of his armour and allowed the guards to untie his wrists. He followed Peter through the crowd of Calormene soldiers that had gradually entered camp, kept in their groups. Aslan was nowhere to be found.

In the centre of the camp, surrounded by a large number of Calormene and Narnian soldiers, stood Caspian. He was not talking, but rather waiting for the talk to quiet down. When it finally did, Peter and Edmund joined him on his pedestal; the trunk of a fallen tree, and looked out over the soldiers. In the entrance to the healing tent, Lucy, Susan, Alena and Sophia looked on.

"Narnians, Calormenes!" Caspian called out over the murmuring men. The murmuring and muttering continued unabated, and Susan could see her brothers roll their eyes. The next moment they both stepped forward. "Narnians, Calormenes, friends, countrymen, lend me your ears!" Peter shouted, with Edmund yelling beside him.

The sounds died down and more than nine hundred heads turned to look at their leaders and defeaters. "Let us mourn." Caspian continued, sounding somewhat quieter but still being able to be heard. "Let us mourn for the blood-brothers and brothers and friends we have lost today. Let us mourn for the fathers, sons and brothers who will never return to their families again. Let us mourn for any who has fought, for I tell you, anyone who has fought against or beside me on this day is my brother. Let us mourn them and wish them eternal peace in Aslan's country." He said, ending the sentence on a soft note.

The soldiers repeated his words in a monotone sound, adding quiet prayers of their own for any who they had known to be dead. "Gentlemen, the war has finished for good. Never again will you have to lift a blade against another man, be they your brother or your friend or even your enemy. But things must be taken care of. General Aspar is dead. He was killed in a confrontation, with his nephew and his uncle, the king, present." Peter said. A few gasps rippled through the crowd of soldiers, but Peter continued.

"I am not sure that all of you knew, and I suspect not, but there was a plot against the Princess, Sophia. She was to be killed, and Aspar were to take her place. For this act of treason and treachery against the princess, a member of the monarchy, Ardu has been de-throned and his title taken away from him." Peter ended.

The crowd erupted in fits of outrage, but Susan saw a reason to Peter's actions. The Calormene army was completely at the mercy of the Narnians. In the case of rebellion, the army would find themselves dead within ten minutes. De-throning Ardu also ensured that the corrupt king wasn't at power anymore.

"Calormenes, Narnia will let you go. We are not a cruel people and we will let you travel back to your country and live in peace for the remainder of your lives. But Ardu will no longer be your king. Instead, Daniil will take his place. Daniil is a brave man, a gentle man and a king who will treat each of you with respect, and not as property." Peter finished, his words rendering the muttering and murmuring men to silence. When he finished, the soldiers again began to talk amongst themselves.

Ardu had been brought forward in the meantime, and he now kneeled in front of the kings that stood on the log, with his head bent. Seeing their king kneeling, open and vulnerable in front of the Narnian kings caused the soldiers to quiet down again. Men stood on other men's shoulders to be able to see. Men climbed fence-posts and trees to see the events unfold.

Edmund stepped forward. "Let it stand, Ardu Kingsson, that on this day, and from the days that will follow that you are no longer king of your country. The burden of the throne, the responsibility of the crown will fall on your nephew, Daniil, General of the left regiments. Do you stand as a testament of this decision? Do you testify?" Edmund demanded.

Ardu raised his head, and with a pained expression, and through gritted teeth he said, "Yes. I do testify." Edmund nodded with satisfaction. "Then stand aside and listen to your daughter." He said, before motioning Sophia up with a jerk of his head. Sophia, shocked, stumbled to the front and stood on top of the log.

This wasn't planned. Peter and Caspian traded looks of surprise and confusion. Nevertheless, Sophia still stood in front of over nine hundred soldiers, a mix of Calormene and Narnian men. She coughed to clear her throat and Edmund steadied her with a hand to her waist. She smiled gratefully. "Father, you and I have had our run-ins, haven't we?" She asked forlornly, looking down on the man with something alike to pitying smile.

"Father, the throne is no more a place for you. You are corrupt and decrepit. The monarchy is slowly descending into a pit of darkness, with nothing but selfish greed ahead of us. Look at the way you have treated Daniil. The way you have treated me. I was nothing but a nuisance, wasn't I?" She asked softly.

Ardu did not look up. Sophia gave another roiling cough and straightened. "Men, you are living witnesses today. Ardu, this is your sentence;" She said, and finally Ardu's head rose. She was slightly shocked to see nothing but pure hatred in the deep pools of brown. "You have been stripped of your title. You are no longer a king but a Lord, who lives humbly in the palace away from the monarchy." She said.

Ardu's eyes were speckled with slight desperation. Sophia deliberately avoided his gaze. "As for Savir, he will be relocated to the village, and he will live with infertile parents, just like you had sent Garvin away. Savir will live never knowing of his royal status. This is only as you have preordained it, father. That is all I say to you. Live humbly and peacefully, Lord. And may our paths never cross again." Sophia finished, before stepping off of the log and walking away.

She made it to the healing tent, where Alena, Lucy and Susan ran forward to hug her tightly. Tears had begun to fall from Sophia's eyes and they were soaked up by the girls' dresses. Edmund saw it happen and made a move to go to her, but Peter held him back. "This concerns her and the girls only. You would not understand." He said carefully.

Edmund eyed them but let it go. It was difficult for him to accept it, but he would have to cope. He was a king, after all.

* * *

As the afternoon progressed and the night drew near, the Narnians began to send the Calormenes on their way back home. Battle-weary, forlorn and with low spirits the men were quick to obey, and soon groups of men were leaving over the horizon. Peter had left a few generals in charge, and they directed the Calormenes on their way. Daniil had left in front, with Ardu trailing behind him.

The man was a mess. He had completely given up any hope of rebellion, and seemed to go along with what the Narnians had deemed. Surprisingly, none of the Calormene soldiers had committed an act against their Narnian defeaters. They just listened and obeyed.

Susan and Caspian watched as the soldiers vanished over the hills, leaning into one another with happy smiles. Comforting gestures passed between them. It wasn't long before Sophia, Edmund, Peter, Alena, Lucy and Samuel joined them. Samuel had decided that he wouldn't return to Calormen. There was nothing left for him there. He would live in Narnia with his cousin, happy and at peace.

They looked out over the horizon together, watching the soldiers disappear. A sudden warm presence startled all of them and they turned around simultaneously to face Aslan. The grandeur and majesty he emitted drove all of them to their knees and they kneeled in front of the Great Lion and bowed their heads.

Aslan's golden gaze swept over them. "Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia." He said softly, and Susan, Caspian, Peter, Lucy and Edmund rose. Sophia, Samuel and Alena remained kneeling. Sophia had her sword drawn with the tip resting in the sand. Aslan walked out in front of her and placed a heavy paw on her right shoulder. Sophia winced slightly at the sudden weight.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the others looking on. Aslan removed his paw and sat. "Rise, Lady Sophia the Fearless, Knight of Narnia. For your reckless valour, your abominable honour and you determination and endurance I give this title to you. Bear it humbly. Narnia is blessed to have you, as I am I." He said, his voice heavy with deep compassion. Sophia slowly raised her head and stood. Her sword was still clasped in her hands. She stared out into the distance, trying not to let the gigantic smile stretch across her face.

Aslan smiled, and that did it. A giant grin formed on her face and set her cheeks alight in a fiery blush. "I thank you deeply, Aslan." She said, before bowing gallantly. Aslan nodded in response, mirroring her smile. The others closed in around her, saying their congratulations and hugging her.

Aslan looked on to the merry happenings, and knowing that they had deserved this, he turned away and prepared to slip quietly away into the night. "Kings, Queens, Knights, daughters and sons alike," He said, gaining their attention. "Today Narnia was shown a measure of complete bravery and selflessness. You stood tall in the face of death, and for that I commend you. This war will certainly never be forgotten. I give my blessings to your futures; all of them, and wherever they may lead you." Aslan said, and the Kings and Queens in front of him straightened.

Aslan smiled. "I must take my leave. Until next time, I bid you farewell." He said. Lucy wiped a tear away. She walked up to him and buried her hands and face in his mane. He stood and allowed her to pet him. "I shall miss you too, dear one." He whispered, nuzzling against her.

The others looked on with fond expressions, before joining in themselves. When it was finally time to go, they stood together and watched as Aslan disappeared into the twilight. Caspian and Susan watched until they could see him no more. Their hands were linked together and they smiled to each other.

Their love had endured two wars. Two corrupt kings and more than a thousand soldiers could not have torn them apart. They were the perfect testimony of perfect love that endured all obstacles thrown at them.

And as they turned and broke up camp, and afterwards trudged home in the dying light of the day, their hands remained linked. Aslan once again helped them cross forests and plains, and they were home just before the bell rang for the eleventh hour.

The soldiers were weary and tired. The moment they returned to the city, the army broke up. Clumps of soldiers left into the city to leave for their homes until finally the eight members of the Calormene and Narnian monarchy were left, looking up at Cair Paravel. The grand castle stood out in the blue-black sky, and the stars sparkled down on them.

They all retired together, in pairs, save for Lucy and Samuel. No one questioned a thing, because they were simply too tired to care.

It was needless to say that they all slept exceptionally well that night.

* * *

**There you have it. Chapter 21. The resolution. That only leaves the wedding and the epilogue to be posted, and then the story is complete. Thank you guys again for all of the amazing reviews to this story. I really appreciate the input and the feedback!**

**Now, I am going to be away for approximately four days, and I don't know whether I will be able to type in that time. However, I will try my hardest to have the wedding posted around next week wednesday. I cannot make any promises though, but I hope you can support me through it.**

**Thanks again!**

**~SunsetWanderer**

**Chapter Question; What do you predict for the futures of all our characters?**


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